Viewpoint 1: Don't bother. With the match gone, there's not as much incentive to keep investing in your company's retirement plan. For one, 401(k) plans typically don't offer the universe of potential investments, so they limit your options. Also, 401(k) plans--and the investments in them--can have high management fees that can eat into your investment returns. That may be especially true with plans sponsored by small and medium-sized companies. Instead, invest outside your company's retirement plan, first in a traditional IRA with the same tax benefits as a 401(k). After your salary exceeds the limit for which you're eligible for a tax-deductible contribution, move on to a Roth IRA. You'll have to invest money after tax, but then it will grow tax-free until you make withdrawals. Those withdrawals are also tax-free; what's more, there's no minimum required withdrawal with a Roth IRA. In contrast, you must begin to withdraw your traditional IRA or 401(k) assets at age 70 1/2.

"In general 401(k)s are overrated, but they’re good for certain income ranges or people who can’t take advantage of Roths," says Matt Conrad, a CPA and managing director of Complete Wealth Management in Mission Viejo, Ca. "I wouldn’t say they have no place, but in general for the average wage-earner, I would advise them to take advantage of a Roth IRA."

Viewpoint 2: Keep funding your 401(k). In fact, contribute more. If you can, make up for that missing match by replacing it with your own money. If you're getting an annual raise, use that money; you won't notice it's missing next year. Continue to put as much as you can into your 401(k), until you reach the maximum level. For one, it's easy. Simply fill out a form or two at work, and your tax-deferred investments begin. For another, it may be your best option if your income is higher than the the maximum income eligible to set up a traditional or Roth IRA. While 401(k)s may sometimes have funds with higher fees, an increasing number offer simplified, "lifestyle" or target retirement funds composed of low-cost index funds. As you age, they automatically decrease your allocation in stocks. Finally, with fewer choices you probably don't need a fee-based or commissioned professional to help you set things up.

The very fact that 401(k)s limit their investment offerings may make them better suited to the average individual investor, says Jack VanDerhei, research director of the Washington, D.C.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute. He points to a study by two Columbia University researchers showing that individual investors, faced with too many investment options, get overwhelmed. "If you give people info overload, you freeze them into inactivity. Participation drops. It’s difficult for people to know where to start," VanDerhei says.

Michael Palazzolo, a CPA and certified financial planner at Access Wealth Planning, a fee-based financial planning company in Roseland, N.J. says he sometimes recommends clients put a bit into both a 401(k) and a Roth IRA. But he leans toward the 401(k), because it's so easy for employees to set up at work.

"If you’re not going through the 401(k) you have to make sure you go out and open up those IRAs and Roths and get those contributions in," he says. "I see people procrastinating all the time."

--Tobie Stanger