Retirement Planning & Investment Vehicles - 401(k) plans offer tax-deferred investment opportunities, allowing pre-tax contributions and tax-free compounding until withdrawal [6][11][12] - Employer matching of 401(k) contributions is considered "free money" and should be taken advantage of [16] - Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) offer the same tax-favored status as 401(k)s but may provide more investment flexibility and lower fees [17][19] - Roth IRAs allow contributions with after-tax income, offering tax-free withdrawals in retirement, particularly beneficial for individuals in lower tax brackets [88][89][97] - The author advocates for increasing the IRA contribution limit to $10,000 per year [86][87] Investment Strategies & Advice - Younger investors should consider investing primarily in stocks, taking on more risk due to their longer time horizon to recover from potential losses [25][46][47] - Paying off high-interest credit card debt should be a priority before investing, as the interest can erode investment returns [38][39] - Saving early and consistently is crucial for achieving financial freedom, and the stock market can be a tool to encourage saving [36][43][44] - A low-cost S&P 500 index fund is a suitable option for passive investing, especially for those who lack the time or expertise to pick individual stocks [23][70][74] - Actively managed mutual funds often underperform their benchmarks due to high fees and incentives focused on asset gathering rather than performance [62][63][68] Saving for Education - 529 plans are recommended for college savings, offering tax-free growth and withdrawals for qualified education expenses [102][106] - Frontloading a 529 plan with up to $85,000 (single) or $170,000 (married filing jointly) can maximize the benefits of compounding [109][110]

Well, moving on, a new report found that the majority of Americans don't know crucial information about their own retirement planning, answering just two out of six retirement related questions correctly. Joining me now is Yahoo Finance senior columnist Carrie Hannon. So, Carrie, why is financial literacy so important, especially when it comes to retirement.Yeah, this is huge, Ally. It's surprising and actually quite shocking that people don't know uh these basic concepts of what's going to determine their ...

In 2024, annuity sales rose 13% from the year prior, reaching 434 billion, according to research and consulting organization Limra. The firm says favorable economic conditions and growing investor awareness around annuities helped propel that growth. But our next guest says that annuities are not for everyone.Here with more we've got John Shrewsbury who is the Gen Wealth Financial Advisors co-owner and managing principal. John, good to have you here with us. So let's start with exactly what annuities are fo ...