While I'm not a huge fan of 401k plans, most are smiply invested in something like the S&P500, which is a smart move. The vast majority of people don't know enough about investing to do anything else without hurting themselves financially. I'm all for people learning more and doing more, but most don't and won't. GameStop is a great example. So many individual investors threw their money away on that, including taking out personal loans in order to bet big on what was essentially a guaranteed loss. Imagine how it would look if people made bets like that with their 401k? There has to be a balance between letting people do what they want with their money and letting people throw it all away and end up on the street during retimrement. Maybe some form of financial literacy test that can unlock access to more investments in a 401k plan? Or maybe people who know better just don't contribute as much to a 401k and invest their money freely outside of those walls.