Don't give up on your 401(k)

Employees should maintain contributions to 401(k) plans even if their company stops matching them, as General Motors Corp. did recently, financial planners say.

There are immediate tax benefits in any 401(k) regardless of an employer match, said Rob Williams, a fee-only financial planner at Columbia, Md.-based Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors.

"Employees cannot cut back," Williams said. "If anything, contributions might have to go up. For every $100 people put into the plan, it's reducing their taxes by $35. The money they lose from their budget is only $65."

A 401(k) plan or an Individual Retirement Account is crucial, financial advisers say, since fewer employers offer traditional pension plans, and for most people, Social Security alone won't be enough to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.