Should We Scrap The 401(K) System And Start Over?

pearlbrown | Jun 23, 2013 | 2,298 posts since 2010

From Morningstar via Yahoo Finance, the utility/effectiveness of 401(k)'s is being debated:

A common criticism was that even though higher-income workers with financial savvy can manage just fine by investing in a 401(k), lower-income workers and/or those without investment acumen may have difficulty amassing a viable nest egg for retirement. Posters griped about weak investment choices in some plans as well as a lack of guardrails to ensure that participants save enough, don't invade their assets prematurely, and make reasonable investment elections.

The topic definitely is not one where a neat one-answer-fits-all.

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Answers

51hh | Jun 23, 2013 | 1,693 posts since 2010

401K is a rare Government-rendered benefits for retirement savers. It needs both good investment options and prudent financial management.

I learned it painfully throughout several crashes (e.g., 2000, 2008) that (1) conventional asset allocation and fund diversification simply do not work, (2) one needs to devlop one's own investment strategy via learning, trial-and-error, and experience and (3) what applied before does not necessarily apply at present.

Nevetheless, it is a great benefit that everyone should take the full advantage of.

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