The only reason that I went with the 401k was that the company matched every dollar I put in with 50c. With the tax benefits at the time, there really was no way to lose. As the economy cooled recently, my company quit matching, and I quit contributing. I have the money split between funds of various risk levels in an attempt to minimize risk, and maximize returns. My fear now is that if taxes go way up, it will erode all of my gains (and even some of my contributions) in the 401k as I withdraw the funds for retirement. I'm considering converting it to a Roth IRA and pay the taxes now, at the current tax rate that I believe is lower than future tax rates.