[justinlardinois]

What's the alternative? You can contribute to an IRA instead, but the limits are much lower. Any other investment products on the market will not be tax-advantaged.

The 401(k) was created by Congress (it's even named after the section on the Internal Revenue Code that created it) and that's where its benefits come from. The only way a similar plan would ever emerge is if Congress decides to create that too.

> The next down turn, who knows, governments have been known to seize retirement funds. What happens if US Congress decides to do that to save the nation?

How would the US government do that? Your 401(k) money is held by a private bank; the government would literally have to seize private property, which on this scale and circumstances is completely unprecedented in US history.