<prompt> Human: About six years ago, I worked part time at a local middle school in their after school program. And when I say part time, I mean like four to eight hours a week, so not a lot of money. Everyone who worked at that school district was automatically enrolled in a FICA alternative retirement plan at 7.5. When I quit, I had 81.66 in my account. I figured I could leave the money there and it would appreciate in value. I didnt have a 401k to move it to, and wasnt sure what all the fees were with just taking it out.And then I forgot about it... until yesterday. While cleaning out one of my folders with old investment material, I found a letter from them with my final balance. It took a while, but I figured out my login and opened my account expecting to find that my 81.66 had grown to 130.My retirement account after 6 years left untouched was now worth 72.13.Which is pretty shitty for me, but I feel even worse for all the teachers who are invested in the exact same plan and literally losing money every year. Youd literally be in a better spot in just a couple years by paying the taxes and investing in an index fund than using their retirement plan.So heres a reminder to keep an eye on all of your various investment accounts and to help out your friends and family who might not know how their plans work like I didnt when I was a sophomore in college.  <response>: I feel even worse for all the teachers who are invested in the exact same plan and literally losing money every yearWhich would likely be none. If you only have 80 in there, the appreciation on that little bit of money isnt enough to offset any admin fees if they have a base rate. If you had been contributing, your gains would outpace the fees. 