The 401(k) was never designed to be a retirement system. Section 401(k) entered the tax code in 1978 as a clause about
deferred bonus pay. It only became what it is today after a benefits consultant, Ted Benna, read it as permission for employees to set aside part of their salary before tax. He built the first plan for his own firm in 1981. Unlike a pension, it comes with a balance and no promise, so the arithmetic falls to the
employee.
Social Security used to help with the arithmetic. Starting in 1999, the government mailed every worker 25 and older an annual statement with their earnings record and a projected benefit. The mailings were suspended in 2011 to save money, and since 2017 the paper statement goes only to people 60 and older who haven’t set up an online account.
Most Americans have no idea where they actually stand. Most guess, or perhaps more accurately, hope Social Security and a 401(k) will work out. Americans say they need $1.26 million to retire comfortably, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 study, and more than half of them don’t expect to be financially ready when the time comes. More presently, some 58% of U.S. workers say they’re behind, according to a Bankrate survey from August 2025. Both surveys asked how people feel. Neither could tell a single respondent whether the feeling was right.
A fiduciary can. Many financial professionals are salespeople paid on what they push, without any vested interest in you becoming
wealthier. A fiduciary is the opposite. The SEC requires them to put your interests first, which makes them the one kind of adviser whose answer to “where do I stand” legally can’t be shaped by what you buy afterward.
Advisor.com’s free matching tool pairs you with vetted fiduciaries from major national firms, and takes less than three minutes. The quiz runs 11 questions and is open to U.S. citizens 18 and over. It ends by matching you with a vetted fiduciary advisor who can help you with investing, taxes, retirement, estate planning, and more. The match comes with the adviser’s Form ADV Part 2A, the SEC filing that states how the adviser is paid, and the
adviser follows up by phone, text, or email. See who you match with today, and find out where you stand. | 
