Your friend is asking for advice. She is planning to retire in 40 years and wants to know what investments she should choose. She also wants to know if she should use an IRA or 401k or some other sort of retirement vehicle. Please advise her. You have another friend that already has a sizable amount saved for his retirement, but he wants to retire in 10 years. What type of advice would you give him about what type of investment to make and as to whether or not to use a retirement plan?

Include some news or advice from an article that is less than a year old that is applicable to this discussion.