http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/08/opinion/walker-retirement/inde...

Recent research finds 401(k)-style defined contribution plans have lost their shine. IRAs and 401(k) plans lost a combined $2.8 trillion, or 47% of their value, between September 2007 and December 2008, the height of the economic recession.

Retirement experts find that these plans have numerous shortcomings, including high operation costs and low investment returns. The biggest problem with defined contribution plans is that alone they do not provide retirees with guaranteed retirement income.

If an employee doesn't make the right large contributions into the right investment mix at the right time, they are at high risk for poverty during retirement. This risk continues to spread as the job of planning and managing retirement savings continues to be transferred to workers who have to learn in their spare time to do what professional money managers are trained and paid to do full-time.