[Steely Tom]

“Workers” can’t do this themselves?

[Georgia Girl 2]

Don’t you know that you are not competent to handle your own money. Its better to let the govt do it for you.

[Cry if I Wanna]

“Workers” can’t do this themselves?

Before I retired a 66 year-old co-worker announced that he was retiring after 15 years. He was a nice guy but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I asked him if he was going to roll over his 401K into an IRA. He said, "Oh, I never paid attention to that stuff." So I sat him down and created an online 401K account for him and it showed he had $66,000 dollars. He yelled, " Are you telling me I have $66,000?! OMG, I'm rich!" The employee had never contributed one dime to the account. All the money was from the employer. And he thought he was rich! Just think what he would have had if he contributed some of his own paycheck. I blame him for not paying attention. But there are way too many people out there who need some hand-holding and help along the way.

[Svartalfiar]

“Workers” can’t do this themselves?

To my knowledge, no. IRAs are 'cash' contributions you make to your account. Your employer doesn't take anything out pre-tax like a 401k, and there is no option to have your employer do this automatically. You have to take the initiative yourself to take your money and put it in the account each paycheck. However, when you file taxes at the end of the year, you can claim IRA contributions as a tax deduction, essentially making them pre-tax contributions. However, they are taxed as regular income when you withdraw after you turn 59 1/2.