It seems to me that the employer will fund it either way. Maybe I’m misremembering stories of pensions being mismanaged and lost. I think the most important thing is that the employer actually does something to fund a retirement, in my way of thinking the 401k approach puts me in control of the money so I don’t rely on someone else to not fail.
Whether it’s promised bonuses, stocks, or retirement funds, my motto is always “show me the money”, and I’ll believe it when it’s in my hands.
401ks have way too much fluctuation and uncertainty. I’ll take the stable pension any day. But IMO the stock market is unethical and should be destroyed.
I put a good chunk of my 401k in CDs.
Edit:
It’s less than an 8th of my fund, just because I don’t like where the market is sitting right now, I’m keeping something secure in case something bad happens to me while something bad happens to the world.
My point was to respond to someone who is morally opposed to stocks. There are other ways to go about it (irrespective of good advice).
Even if you were retirement age that’s a bad idea
CDs nuts! Ha got him!
Unless you are retiring in the next decade, it is highly advisable to invest a 401k in the stock market. You get significantly higher returns over the long run. And any losses due to a recession are more than made up for by the significantly higher returns every other year.
When you are nearing retirement (5-10 years out), that is when you want to put the money into something safe and stable like bonds or CDs. That way if there is a recession as you retire, it won’t affect your fund.