While putting together this list of the best books on 401(k) retirement-savings plans, I looked for several things, including accurate, up-to-date information and realistic advice. But mostly I searched for simplicity: books that are clearly written and logically organized and that provide easy-to-follow action plans. After all, there's only one reason to read a book about 401(k) investing, and that's to find out how you can maximize this employee benefit for a secure retirement. 

Like its classic predecessor, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Money & Investing, this is a novice investor's delight. This handy guide surveys issues relating to retirement planning, from setting goals to choosing investment plans, estimating Social Security benefits, and planning for long-term health care. Even the most reluctant investor won't mind picking up this book, which is full of colorful graphs and illustrations. Chapters are color-coded, and the index is thorough, making the book easy to skim for topics of particular interest. 

Getting Started in 401(k) Investing by Paul Katzeff
In his introduction, Investor's Business Daily writer Katzeff states that you "won't need a Wall Street dictionary to understand" his book. He's right. This "plain English" guide is as lucid and direct as they come. 

Katzeff starts by listing the advantages of participating in an employee-sponsored retirement plan: Contributions lower your annual taxes, your investments grow tax-free, and your company probably matches part of your contributions--which amounts to free money. And Katzeff makes a convincing case that you'd be a fool to pass up these benefits. 

The rest of the book is just as persuasive. Katzeff painlessly explains 401(k) technicalities such as vesting, hardship withdrawals, and post-retirement tax issues, and he illuminates jargon such as safe harbor. He also provides several chapters on investing, although this is the book's weakest section. Katzeff stresses long-term investing, but he refers to outmoded fund descriptions such as capital appreciation and growth and income. Morningstar believes that classifying funds according to how they actually invest (according to their style-box positions) makes building a diversified portfolio much easier. 

Financial-education consultants Bogosian and Lee explain what 401(k)s are, how they work, and why you should participate in them. The book also addresses broader issues of personal finance, such as setting realistic goals, finding a financial planner, and managing your account once you reach retirement age. 

But this guide's best features are found toward the back, in its appendix. A mini-workbook will help you identify your retirement goals, determine your postretirement needs, and ascertain your current savings requirements. The book's glossary section is also helpful and includes definitions for dizzying retirement-plan jargon such as 457 plan and refund annuity. This is a solid reference guide for your investing bookshelf. 

Honorable Mention
Remember the yellow and black "cheat" books your teachers warned you against bringing to school? Now, CliffsNotes has an investing-guide series. Similar in style to the company's digests of great works of literature, Scott Gilpatric's CliffsNotes: Investing in 401(k) Plans provides a bare-bones outline of 401(k) plans. It's a decent starting place if you're just looking for some motivation. But eventually, you'll probably want a 401(k) book that is more comprehensive.