An awful lot of people didn't elect to start a 401k. Even in the company that I worked for where there was a 50% match up to 6% of income, only about half choose to have a 401k.
I didn’t take a 401(k). I like to be liquid and I don’t believe the government when it makes promises about what I can and cannot do with that money.
Turns out thanks to Obamanomics, spending your money on Whiskey would have been a better investment.