I Have A 401(k). Now What?

When I was young, I thought the point of a 401(k) plan was that, if injured or retired or some such thing, a worker was entitled to $401,000. Which seemed like a lot for an average dude.

Then I grew older and realized this was silly. Clearly, the worker was entitled to his company matching his contributions into a medical/emergency/retirement account, up to $401,000. Which totally makes sense. $401k is more than enough for a dude to live on. They shouldn't have to pay out over that unless there's some serious AD & D situation.

Well, now I'm 25 and I hve my own 401(k) and I know that it's just procedural code for an invested savings account my employers pays into, matching up to 4% of my own contributions. And since I'm poor, that's how much I put in, about $12.50 a week. Huzzah.

That is incredibly disappointing. I'd like my childhood notion back, please. I liked it much better.