This is a non-issue. You can roll it over penalty-free into an IRA when you leave. Anything you contributed is still yours, though there might be a vesting schedule for the employer match.
> Even when it's available, it's not mandatory to save anything.
As long as it's not hard to sign up, I'm an adult. I can save money on my own.
> Investment options are often active funds
My employer has a good plan, and some of the options are Fidelity target date funds. These are great options, and I've been seeing them at more employers. Granted, some might not have these options.
> It's too easy for retail investors to panic
Again, I'm an adult. Every financial advisor says don't do that.
> If the government...
Individuals aren't responsible enough to save money on their own, but the group that couldn't elect a leader for 3 weeks, can barely pass a bill to keep the government running for the next 45 days, plays chicken with the credit limit, and is watching its credit score fall because of these shenanigans is responsible enough?
Most of your objections kind of prove my point that the 401k is more a tax break for the upper class than than a reasonable retirement plan for the average american.
>> It's tied to your employer
>This is a non-issue.
It absolutely is an issue when half the people in the US do not have access to a 401k
If you're posting on this site, you're not just 'an adult', you're likely well off, financially literate, are able to delay gratification, and have a great deal more bargaining power than the average joe. No judgement, but that is not most Americans. You know how most publications target an 8th grade reading level? Our retirement plans should target that level of financial literacy as well.
While I don't trust our politicians I do trust the rank and file government employees that serve the american people. I have a tsp account left over from my time with the navy and it is by far the best retirement account I've ever had.
> It absolutely is an issue when half the people in the US do not have access to a 401k
As someone else said, IRAs offer the same tax break. The contribution limit is lower (I'd support changing this), but most of the people who don't have access aren't maxing out their contributions, anyway.
>most of the people who don't have access aren't maxing out their contributions, anyway.
Precisely. We should have an account that autosaves and invests ~ 10% of a worker's pay into a simple target date fund. You can opt out, but by default, when you get to retirement you're covered.
I can tell you first hand that many of the blue collar folks I know in retirement almost exclusively live off of social security and that's a sad, restricted life.
This is a non-issue. You can roll it over penalty-free into an IRA when you leave. Anything you contributed is still yours, though there might be a vesting schedule for the employer match.
> Even when it's available, it's not mandatory to save anything.
As long as it's not hard to sign up, I'm an adult. I can save money on my own.
> Investment options are often active funds
My employer has a good plan, and some of the options are Fidelity target date funds. These are great options, and I've been seeing them at more employers. Granted, some might not have these options.
> It's too easy for retail investors to panic
Again, I'm an adult. Every financial advisor says don't do that.
> If the government...
Individuals aren't responsible enough to save money on their own, but the group that couldn't elect a leader for 3 weeks, can barely pass a bill to keep the government running for the next 45 days, plays chicken with the credit limit, and is watching its credit score fall because of these shenanigans is responsible enough?