<prompt> Human: Im leaving my company and, discussing my insurance and retirement account info, it was discovered that my account was never actually setup. When I accepted my job about three years ago, I verbally agreed with my employer to contribute 5 which they match. This was my first salaried position, so I was clueless about insurance, investing accounts, etc. Apparently I never filled out and submitted the proper forms, so all this time, I never actually had a 401k. There have never been deductions for it on my paychecks - I didnt know to look for them.It seems like a long shot, but can anything be done at this point to recoup that 5 match I missed out on?tl;dr: I never submitted the paperwork to establish my 401k, missed out on 3 years worth of 5 matched contributions from my employer. Feel like I could cry at my own stupidity. Can anything be done?  <response>: Off the top of my head I would say no. 401k contributions must be pulled from your paycheck so you cant really contribute to them after the fact.The burden was on you to have looked at your paystubs which show all your deductions including Traditional and Roth 401k contributions and matching.Additionally, had you been in a 401k, whatever company had ownership of those accounts would have sent you quarterly or annual statements regarding your contributions, your employer contributions, growth, fees, etc. Im very sorry but treat this as a lesson learned to watch your money and your paychecks very carefully. 