<prompt> Human: Im a 19 year old who is working at a company with retirement plan and I would like to start figuring out retirement options. I know that if you have the ability to save for your retirement, you should do so as quickly as possible. Is there any benefit to choosing a 401k plan over a high yield savings account, besides the employer match. 401k plans seem like a risky investment for retirement, when you cant pull the investment until a certain age and the funds in the account reflect that of the market. If the market crashes I lose money, not to mention hidden fees I may have to pay later on. Why is the 401k plan the option to choose? Is there some major benefit that I am totally skipping over?  <response>: There are several ways to access your 401K funds before traditional retirement age. One involves rolling it into a Traditional IRA and then converting it to a Roth IRA. You control the risk level - you choose which funds to invest in. If your 401K only has crappy funds with high expenses, that would be a valid reason not to contribute to the 401K beyond the match. There is no such thing as hidden fees -- all the fees and expenses are described, you just have to read the paperwork. The 401K plan is one of the best options for retirement savings because it is tax advantaged. You dont pay any taxes on money that you put in it. You only pay taxes when you withdraw or if you roll it over to an IRA and then to a Roth, potentially not at all. This is a huge benefit when you make a good income and want to reduce your taxes. If your income is low, you could benefit more from contributing to a Roth IRA instead of the 401K after you meet the employer match. A high yield savings account only has returns of about 1.5. Considering inflation, youre essentially losing money if you leave it sitting in a savings account. The stock market has averaged 7 returns per year over the last 30 years. In order to grow your money for retirement, you have to think about investing in stocks. 