Retirement delayed and broke anyway

[ShazzieB]

84. I'm not opposed to 401Ks, but I have to quibble with one thing you said.

This is why when people complain about 401k plans, I point out that (so long as you don't make or are forced into truly stupid investing decisions) that money remains yours, no matter what.

This isn't 100% guaranteed. My husband and I found out the hard way when the economy crashed in 2008 and half the money in our 401Ks "magically" vanished in a puff of smoke. It had nothing to do with our own investment decisions, but with factors in the stock market that were totally beyond our control.

Granted that was an extreme situation, but it did happen, no just to us but a whole lot of people. I'm embarrassed to admit that I was so stupid and naive at the time that I actually didn't know such a thing was possible, but the joke was on me.

As I said, I am not anti 401K. I think they can work very well in many cases, and the portability when changing jobs is a definite plus. I just think people need to be aware that such things can happen, rare as they may be.

It sounds like you are managing quite well, and I think that's great. We're still trying to figure things out.