Standard & Poor's 401k Planning Guide

I remember during my first job after graduating, our HR rep was telling me about my company's 401K plan and how good it is compared to others given the plan options and company match and boy did I turn a deaf ear to her! Like many new graduates I was just happy to get the paycheck and had no clue about retirement plans and IRAs. The older wiser employees used to talk about 401K during lunch etc and I wouldn't know what the hell they are talking about. I did figure out that it is something 'good' and everyone is ought to enroll.I finally went to the bookstore and picked this book (at random). It turned out to be a life saver. It clearly explains what actually 401 plans are and how they work. It did not assume any previous knowledge on the subject. The book talks about the legal aspects of the plan as well and ofcourse how the employees can take advantage of this. You will clearly understand pre-tax deductions, company match, taxes relevant to 401K, what plan administrator is, what kind of different plan options are out there etc. Most importantly it gives you an idea as to how you can set financial goals for your retirement and based on that and your age now how much you should contribute to your plan. There are many other facts about 401K covered such as taking a loan out of your 401 if you want to buy a house for instance. Ofcourse there are some 'penalties' associated with it and the book does a great job explaining those.After reading this book I realized how important it is to enroll ASAP in 401K plan coz why the hell you'd want to miss out on $ for $ company match. Its literally free money for god sake!

This book does a great job of handling the task of explaining 401k investment options, asset allocations, and 401k distributions. The sample asset allocations for different styles of investors are great examples. Unfortunately the book does not cover Roth IRAs as the book was published before Roths came out. Otherwise a great book.