DENVER -- If Powerball and the Lotto are your best bets for a retirement nest egg, you're in a heap of trouble. And if you think holding a sign on some busy streetcorner is going to do the job, think again.

Pension plans and Social Security are a start. But there's something better yet -- 401Ks.

"It's the easiest way to save money for retirement," said 401K fan Randy Rush.

The name 401K comes from a provision of the federal income tax code. Every paycheck, you put some money away in a retirement account. The money is invested and your current tax bill is lowered. And many employers kick in some money as well.

"If employee contributions at your company are matched at all and you're not participating, you're leaving money on the table -- your money," said Rush.

And by some estimates, employees have left behind as much as $30 billion in employer-matching funds over the last 20 years.

"Concern about making their paycheck make ends meet is probably the biggest issue," said certified financial planner Mimi Hackley.

"Even if you put $10 a week away, you're putting something away. You're saving for retirement," said Rush.

But financial planner Hackley concedes that signing up for a 401K can be tough if you're living on the financial edge.

"It's very frightening for people, but I think even more frightening is the prospect of not being able to retire," said Hackley.

The money that's taken for the 401K is money taken from your paycheck before you get paid and is not taxed until you start withdrawing.

Generally speaking, you cannot take any money out until after you're 59½ years old.

Take it out earlier and there are huge tax penalties. But you can borrow for specific hardships or emergencies.

There are plenty of retirement planning Web sites, but a quick check shows most of them are prepared by either insurance companies or mutual funds. Their usefulness is somewhat limited because of the biases that big financial companies bring to their own worksheets.

The best Web site planners that Consumer Champ Bill Clarke has seen are at www.smartmoney.com, from the publishers of Smart Money Magazine. The worksheets are free, though there's a more sophisticated product in the upgrade. A subscription to that upgrade, SmartMoney Platinum, costs about $6 a month.

Clarke's own experience with Qeb worksheets sponsored by stock brokerage firms is that they have some limits.

"I've not checked out a lot of these, but the site on retirement planning run by Charles Schwab for its clients is a very good one," said Clarke, who says he is a Schwab client.

Like other brokerage firms, Schwab limits access so that only its customers can use the full service.