Get rid of the 401k entirely and let everyone use IRA/Roth IRA with the increased contribution limits. Make contribution limit a percentage of income rather tha

Get rid of the 401k entirely and let everyone use IRA/Roth IRA with the increased contribution limits. Make contribution limit a percentage of income rather than a fixed amount (e.g. Canadian RRSP allows 18% of last year's income). Allow a minimum dollar amount contribution even if it exceeds that percentage. E.g. $50k-earning worker wants to save $10k/year by living with parents, not eating out etc even though contributions are limited to 15% of income. Calculate SS tax after these deductions, not before. EDIT: Please let me know why these might be bad ideas. I think it's unfair that currently only people with employer-sponsored 401k plans can save $18k and everyone else has only an IRA with $5.5k limit. Or some people can do a self-employed 401k which is a thing I don't know a lot about. It's crazy there are so many options for what should be a simple thing "I want to put aside some money now, some of it tax free, for when I retire."