NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - I recently changed jobs. My previous employer offered a 401(k) plan to which I contributed the max, or $18,000 in my case. My new employer doesn't have a 401(k) plan, though. What options do I have so I can invest the same amount of money and get the same tax benefits as my old 401(k)?

-- Gregory, Clifton, New Jersey

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You, my friend, are an unfortunate example of what I think of as the glaring "luck of the draw" Achilles' heel in America's employer-based retirement saving system.

If you happen to work for a company that has a good 401(k) plan -- that is, one that allows you to set aside a hefty percentage of your salary and ideally, matches your contributions with employer funds -- then you have a decent shot at accumulating a decent nest egg for retirement.

But if you work for a company that has a lousy 401(k) -- or, worse yet, an employer like yours who doesn't even offer a plan -- then the task of saving for a decent retirement is much more daunting.

Is this a reasonable retirement savings system for the world's mightiest nation and largest economy? Of course not. This is what I'd expect from some third-rate tinhorn country, not the good old US of A.

A few years back the Bush administration talked about allowing virtually anyone, regardless of age or income, to invest up to $7,500 a year in both Lifetime Savings Accounts and Retirement Savings Accounts and then later withdraw funds from those accounts tax-free. (For more on how these accounts were supposed to work, click here.) But like so many initiatives in DC, there was a lot of blather that led to nothing.

But enough of my soapboxing. Back to your question.

The short answer, I'm sorry to say, is that you don't any options as attractive as your old 401(k). In fact, the only retirement savings vehicle available to you that has a government tax-break is a traditional IRA, which gives you an upfront tax deduction for your contribution, or a Roth IRA, which doesn't provide a deduction, but does allow for tax-free withdrawals.

While an IRA is certainly better than nothing, the sky isn't exactly the limit when it comes to contributions. The maximum you can put into an IRA for this tax year is $4,000, plus another $1,000 "catch-up" contribution if you're 50 or older.

Depending on such factors as your salary and whether or not your spouse is also covered by an employer pension plan, you may even not be able to hit the max for a traditional deductible or Roth IRA. (For help in figuring how much you can actually contribute, click here.) Clearly, this is a far cry from the 2006 401(k) max of $20,000 ($15,000, plus a $5,000 catch-up). (See correction below.)

First, be sure to max out on either a traditional or Roth IRA this year. In fact, if you haven't done so already, you can still make an IRA contribution for the 2005 tax year, as long as you do it by April 15th.

If you've got money left over after that -- and I assume you do if you were salting away $18,000 a year previously -- you've got a couple of other possibilities.

You can, in effect, create your own tax-sheltered investing account by buying mutual funds that keep taxable distributions to a minimum. By choosing such funds, all or most of your gains are taxed only when you sell. And by holding such funds for the long-term, you get the advantages of having your gains compound without the drag of taxes (much as in a 401(k) or IRA), plus you're taxed at a low rate when you pull those gains out.

One type of fund that provides this tax benefit is known as a tax-managed fund. Basically, the fund manager uses a variety of techniques, including taking occasional losses in some stocks to offset gains in others, to minimize taxable distributions to shareholders. (For more about how these funds work, click here.)

Index funds also tend to be more tax efficient than regular mutual funds because index fund managers generally trade less frequently than skippers of actively managed funds, which usually means fewer taxable distributions. Most ETFs, or exchange-traded-funds are also highly tax-efficient. For a look at index funds that made the MONEY 65, MONEY Magazine's elite list of recommended funds, click here and for the ETFs on the roster, click here.

So the best you can do for now is take advantage of the IRA option, and then stick some money in tax-efficient funds or ETFs that reduce the tax bite on your gains.

It also wouldn't hurt to scout around for jobs at companies that do offer a good 401(k) plan because at the speed change occurs inside the beltway, it could be a long, long time before we see major improvements in the nation's retirement savings system as a whole.

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An earlier version of this story said that total 401(k) contributions are $16,000 in 2006 and workers 50 and older can make additional "catch-up" contributions totaling $5,000. The correct amount is $15,000.