human
I'm a bit confused about the difference between the 401k and the IRA.
assistant
The 401k is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that allows employees to save for retirement before taxes are taken out of their paycheck. An IRA, or Individual Retirement Account, is also a type of retirement savings account, but it's funded with your own money. With a 401k, you can contribute pre-tax income, while with an IRA you can only make contributions from post-tax income.