"Like most people, I've taken a pretty big hit in my 401(k) plan. But I don't think you can blame that on a flaw in the program, nor is there any way to regulate the risk out of such a system. If you get a stock market crash of this magnitude, any stock-based retirement plan is going to be hurt. Period. I understand the impact it has had on people close to or in retirement, but there's no solution to it. However, this is a damn fine illustration why it would have been foolish to tie Social Security benefits to the market. If SSI payments had fallen in addition to the collapse of 401(k) accounts, the pain would have been doubled for millions of people. As it is, the defined-benefit basis of Social Security at least provides a firewall in retirement."  MORE >>