Anybody who has lost money this last year in the stock market may be unsettled. This has been a tough couple of years where almost everyone has come out a loser. The stock market is a place where anybody can look like a fool when it is going down and look like a hero when all stocks are going up.

401k plans have become very popular with employers. These plans are being used in place of pension plans to offer a retirement option for employees. Since the plans are handled by third party investment firms, they are safer for employees because the fund doesn’t disappear if the employer goes bankrupt. As long as the employee doesn’t invest his entire 401k fund into company stock, his 401k will continue to grow even if the company goes under. Here are the basics of a 401k account.