--- title: Hate Your Company's 401(k)? Here's How to Squeeze the Most From Any Plan description: 'Your 401(k) plan is potentially one the best tools you have to save for retirement. You get a tax advantage and often a partial match from your employer. But let''s face it: Not all company plans have the most compelling investment options.' authors: - name: turnercowles url: https://money.com/author/turnercowles/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 23 covers: - Retirement - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2015-04-23T10:00:29.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T05:38:58.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - 401(k) - 401(k) advice - IRA - Retirement - retirement savings word_count: 338 canonical: https://money.com/hate-your-401k-fix-it/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![squeezing orange](https://img.money.com/2015/04/150415_inv_mostfrom401k.jpg?crop=0px%2C971px%2C3420px%2C1923px&quality=85) Your [401(k) plan](https://money.com/401k-millionaires-secrets/ "The Number of 401(k) Millionaires Has Doubled. Are You on Track to Be One?") is potentially one the best tools you have to save for retirement. You get a tax advantage and often a partial match from your employer. But let's face it: Not all company plans have the most compelling investment options. These strategies will help you use your plan to maximum advantage. ![](https://img.money.com/2015/04/150415_wea_build_401k.png) ### **1\. Plug the biggest hole in your account: Costs.** Mutual fund charges look small, but the cost of paying an extra 1% a year in fees is that you give up 33% of your potential wealth over the course of 40 years. If there's at least a basic S&P 500 or [total stock market index fund](https://money.com/money-50-best-mutual-funds-and-etfs/ "Money 50: The World’s Best Mutual Funds and ETFs") in your plan, that's often your best option for your equity allocation. Some charge as little as 0.1%, vs. 1% or more for actively managed funds. ### **2\. Look beyond the company plan.** If your 401(k) doesn’t offer other low-cost investment options, diversify elsewhere. First, save enough in the 401(k) to get the company match. Then [fund an IRA](https://money.com/what-is-an-ira/), which offers similar tax advantage. You can then choose your own funds, including bond funds and foreign stock funds, to complement what's in your workplace plan. ### **3\. While you’re at it, dump company stock.** About $1 out of every $7 in 401(k)s is invested in employer shares. But your income is already tied to that company. Your retirement shouldn’t be too. ### 4\. Share strategy with your spouse. It's a good idea no matter how much you like your plan: If you hold a third of your 401(k) in bonds, for example, your combined mix may be riskier than you think if your spouse is 100% in stocks. But coordinating also improves your options. If your spouse's plan has a better foreign fund, you can focus your joint international allocation there. *Adapted from "101 Ways to Build Wealth," by Daniel Bortz, Kara Brandeisky, Paul J. Lim, and Taylor Tepper, which originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of Money magazine.* **Read next:** [What You Can Learn From 401(k) Millionaires in the Making](https://money.com/401k-millionaires-lessons/ "What You Can Learn From 401(k) Millionaires in the Making") ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/hate-your-401k-fix-it/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "401(k)", "item": "https://money.com/401k/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hate Your Company's 401(k)? 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