[philips]

Or it is the fault of the government for not letting employees have access to self managed IRAs while employed

[Arainach]

Retirement accounts are not intended as general purpose investment vehicles. If everyone could put their 401k/pension in anything, you would see a lot more people getting scammed and gambling on the latest GameStop internet mania. If folks want to invest like that, get a brokerage account. If you want tax-advantaged retirement planning, being limited to less risky things is the tradeoff you make.

[lotsofpulp]

There is no reason Fidelity/Schwab/Vanguard/etc could not restrict accounts to certain investment options just like 401k are.

Also, IRAs already exist. No reason for an employer to be in the middle.

[hnuser847]

There's nothing stopping you from having both at the same time, with the caveat that your contributions to the IRA may not be deductible if you earn over a certain threshold.[1]

[1] https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/can-i-have-a-40....

[lotsofpulp]

That is true, too. There is no reason an employer should be involved a person’s retirement or healthcare.