&quot;I know the rich aren&#x27;t all getting richer simply from some sinister new system for transferring wealth to them from everyone else,&quot;<p>401(k)&#x27;s are a great example of shifting wealth to the wealthy.  SS was used to fund general government spending, but nobody got directly rich from it.  With 401(k)&#x27;s the financial sector can skim a vast pool of money from the middle class with a huge range of hidden fees.  Toss in a 10% fee for pulling money out in an emergency and it&#x27;s surprisingly bad for younger workers vs simply investing money and paying the trivial cap gains taxes.<p>On top of that it inserted 100&#x27;s of billions of dumb money into the market which creates tones of opportunity&#x27;s to make money using HFT etc.