But the balance for those not sophisticated enough to invest on their own is 401k.  And many jobs [citation needed] (at least the ones I&#x27;ve been at) automatically start you off at 3% contribution, and they will automatically increase it by 1% every year (up to 6%), coinciding with your raises, if you do not tell them to do otherwise.  Plus, they will put it in a target fund based on your estimated retirement age (ex. 2035 fund) that starts off aggressive, then gets more conservative when you get closer to that year.  So it is mostly foolproof for the average person (although not the best possible returns for them).