Your 401(k) Is Not a Plan: Why a pile of money is not a retirement strategy.
- Jonathan Harner, CFP®
- May 29
- 3 min read
“I’m good—my 401(k)’s funded.”
That’s what people often say.
It feels like progress. You’ve saved. You’ve built a portfolio. Maybe it’s seven figures or more.
But here’s the reality: Having a pile of money is not the same as having a plan.
A pile of money tells you nothing about whether you can actually afford to retire, how long your money will last, or what tradeoffs you’ll need to make along the way.
And let’s be honest—most people don’t even know what they mean when they say their 401(k) is “funded.”
Are you just hitting the employer match?
Are you maxing the employee contribution—$23,000, maybe $30,500 if you’re over 50?
Are you making after-tax contributions up to the full IRS limit, including backdoor Roths?
“Funded” could mean almost anything. And none of those answers tell you whether you’re actually ready for retirement.
It’s Not What You’ve Saved—It’s What You’re Spending
How much you spend matters just as much as how much you’ve saved.
You could have $5 million and still not be able to retire if you’re spending $500,000 a year. That’s not complicated math. You’re going to run out of money.
This is where a lot of so-called plans fall apart.
They’re built around growing an arbitrary number—$1 million, $2 million, $5 million—but often with no idea what that number actually needs to be. It’s like setting a GPS destination without knowing where you’re starting or how far you need to go.
It’s not about hitting some round number that sounds good. It’s about making sure your savings can support your lifestyle—for as long as you need it to.
Retirement Isn’t About Guessing a Number—It’s About Building a Strategy
Most people don’t know what number they actually need to retire.
They’ve just grabbed a random, round number out of the air—$1 million, $2 million, maybe $5 million—because that’s what some article, coworker, or social media guru said.
But that number is meaningless if it isn’t rooted in real strategy.
Your retirement number should come from actually analyzing things such as:
What do you spend?
How long do you need the money to last?
What are your tax liabilities?
How should you sequence your withdrawals?
You don’t just need a number—you need a strategy to arrive at the right number.
One that adapts as life changes. One that helps you make smart decisions during market drops, tax law changes, and unexpected expenses.
Without a strategy, you’re just guessing. And guessing is a terrible way to plan for the biggest financial decision you will ever make.
Looks Like a Portfolio. Acts Like a Mess.
So, what most have people is not a financial plan. They have a collection of accounts.
It looks like a portfolio—401(k), IRA, brokerage account, maybe an HSA. If they’re lucky, a pension.
But under the hood? No integration. No sequence. No logic. No plan. Just a disconnected pile of accounts that no one’s coordinating.
Here’s what that creates:
Money coming out of the wrong accounts at the wrong times.
Missed opportunities to reduce lifetime tax liabilities..
Higher Medicare premiums than necessary.
RMDs that push you into a higher tax bracket.
Total confusion about when—or whether—you can retire.
It’s not that these people did anything wrong. They’ve saved diligently. But no one ever showed them how to turn that collection into a strategy.
That’s the difference. You don’t just need a portfolio. You need a plan that pulls it all together.You Don’t Need More Pieces—You Need a Blueprint
Before you open another account, chase another investment, or “do more,” take a step back.
What you need isn’t more pieces. You need a dynamic strategy that integrates everything you’ve already built.
It's like putting together a puzzle. It's only once the puzzle is assembled can you see which pieces are missing, if any.
So let’s put the pieces together.
Schedule a time to talk.
We’ll look at your 401(k), your accounts, your goals—and build a plan that actually works. Not just in theory. But for real life. Over decades.
Stop guessing. Start planning.
