In 2008 the numbers changed in my 401K, but if you didn't panic and just left your account alone, by the time I retired in Jan 2011 my account was back on track. Now its about 25% of my retirement package. Vanguard charges a fee to maintain your account. Now I'm paying my financial advisor and that's working out well for me. I retired with a lot more money in my 401K than I could have ever saved on my own. I have to pay taxes on the money I draw out, but its only about 12%, which is a lot lower that I was paying when I was working.