Well, if you believe the pundits that say you can safely take 4% a year out to preserve principle, you'd need a million to pull 40K a year out in retirement. So at present rate I'll be on the poverty plan.

As a side note the 401K was never designed as a stand alone retirement vehicle. It was envisioned as a tax haven for already highly compensated executives. "We know we're already paying you $500,000 a year and any raises will get sacked with taxes so how about if we match your money in a tax deferred account?"

Companies quickly figured they could save costs by dropping pensions and adding 401Ks, and they duped the middle and lower class working poor into thinking they had done them a favor.

The number of people that use their 401Ks as a makeshift saving account before retirement - taking money out and paying the taxes and the penalty - is staggering.