I admit to some naivety on the issue, but it seems like these retirement plans have a some exposure when it comes to inflation. Looking at the world economy and the unprecedented measures that were/are being taken to avoid inflation (fed. resv lending, IMF / Eurobank bailouts for Spain/Greece, etc.) it seems like I would be worried about the future value of my money.

I want to retire. I would worry that if I lived very frugally and planned to retire at 35-40, I could get depressed if outside of my control my future expenses doubled because of inflation while others who are focused on maximizing their earnings would be able to benefit from (possible) inflation through higher wages.

I guess thats the same sort of snow globing that gets people in trouble when they make investments. Who knows what inflation will do.