pdxrailtransit Wrote:
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> I put the bare minimum (1%) into my 401k just
> because I am so resistant to anyone else having
> control over my money. I figure having spent a
> life squandering my income on beer and Kodachrome
> (formerly,) is better than retiring to Florida to
> play golf.

If you don't have control over your 401k investments, you have an even worse plan than mine. I'm not happy with the quality of most of the investments available, but at least there are several choices so I don't have to live with whatever "target date" fund the administrators get the biggest kickback from.

Fees and expenses are the problem with most 401k's. "Target Date" funds are usually funds-of-funds and have quite high expenses. That, and admin fees, suck a lot of off the top. In my case, the 401k supplements a regular pension, so I never fully funded it (I did have to live and feed the family on the paycheck, too). But there is something in it. I'll probably roll the 401k to an IRA with no fees now that I'm retired - 401k loses money after costs just sitting there now that I'm not actively contributing any more. I'd like to spend it myself rather than give it to some program administrator (general fund expenses are bad enough). Alternative: keep it growing as long as I can in the IRA as a hedge against some clown doing to my pension what Timken did after the putsch.