401K. My company has a 401K but they do not match or contribute. Should I enroll?

Question

401K. My company has a 401K but they do not match or contribute. Should I enroll?

Answer 1

Employer matching is the primary thing that makes 401K's better than other options.  Since your employer is not matching your contributions I would not participate.

Instead, you can open an IRA and still get the same tax advantages and have more control over your investment choices.

If your employer starts to match 401K contributions in the future then you can jump in.  

Answer 2

There is little incentive.  You can just as easy set up your own IRA or Roth IRA with complete freedom of stocks and funds to choose from.

Answer 3

I, from experince, would not. My particular 401K had higher than normal fees. But if they would have matched, I would have stayed in. Who doesn't want free money? There are much better programs that allow you to be more flexible with your money or have tax advantages. If you would benefit from tax savings then IRAs may be the way to go. If you are young enough to not worry about retirement, I would stick with stocks or mutual funds.