The 3 biggest 401(k) mistakes costing Americans millions in retirement (and which ones may be crushing you)

Core Insights - Many American workers are making small deviations in their 401(k) plans that jeopardize their retirement savings [1][2] - A significant knowledge gap exists among workers regarding 401(k) mechanisms, leading to costly mistakes [3] Group 1: Current State of 401(k) Plans - Approximately 92 million Americans have saved over $7 trillion in 401(k) plans, yet many struggle with basic understanding [2] - A study indicates that 85% of plan participants cannot answer fundamental questions about their plans [2] Group 2: Common Mistakes - Ignoring strategic contributions is a prevalent issue, with many workers defaulting to a low contribution rate of around 3% [4][5] - The lack of auto-escalation features in many 401(k) plans means workers may revert to the low default rate when changing employers [5] - A 3% contribution rate could take nearly 38 years to reach $1 million, while increasing it to 5% could achieve the same goal in 32 years, highlighting the importance of adjusting contributions with income increases [5][6]