Thirty-six percent of private-sector workers in the U.S. don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.
For the ones who do, rolling over a 401(k) into an IRA mutual fund with a fractionally higher fee structure can cost big bucks over time since the differential is exponential.
This article fails to report the fact that may 401(k) funds have higher fees than identical funds at discount brokers (such as a Vanguard S&P 500 index fund).
This has Macro impact since it affects millions of workers. When Americans aren’t able to save enough for retirement, it’s not just the individuals who bear the burden. Taxpayers overall can suffer as state and federal budgets are stretched due to:
Lost tax revenue that would have come from savings.
Increased government spending to support Americans who lack sufficient funds in retirement.
Over the years we have discussed this many times. Large employers often have excellent low cost 401k plans. Small employers often have few choices. Their plans can be with insurance companies. Some are annuity plans.
Obama care did much for health insurance for those not in group plans. It would be great if govt could develop a low cost option for small employer 401k plans.
An IRA. Nice thing about an IRA, you take it with you when you change employer, a nice feature if your work history if full of RIFs and the “JC” locking the doors on you , like mine.
Yes, IRA or Roth is a good start, but a very poor substitute for a 401K. No employers match. Much lower contribution limits. And much more limited pretax contributions.
We can and should do much better–if you plan to retire on those funds.
