PersonalFinance: A plan for your 401(k) | Special Coverage | Reuters

PersonalFinance: A plan for your 401(k) | Special Coverage | Reuters: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There's a lot about 401(k) accounts in the news lately, and much of it is unsettling.

There are reports of workers finding their 401(k) contributions locked into investments they can't sell, and of hidden fees skimming value off the top of retirement funds. Big-name employers are doing away with matching contributions, so the only money going into employees' accounts comes out of their own paychecks. Finally, too many employees had no choice but to watch their hard-earned retirement savings evaporate in the great market meltdown of 2008/9.

What's an employee to do? Stop saving at work? Some in the 401(k) industry are a little bit smug about this. They point out that even if your plan isn't very good, and even if your employer has stopped matching your contributions, you can't beat the tax advantages of putting money into an employer-sponsored tax-deferred retirement plan.

That's not exactly true. You may have other tax-favored options."