text: investing for retirement.? if my job has a 401 that matches some of what i put in....and vangaurd has a tax-free ira for retirement, which one should i put money into?   one taxes me but the other matches some of what i put in. i would favor the employer-matched 401k because it is free money and it reduces your current tax burden.employer matching typically maxes out at some amount, so put in at least that much in order to get the most free money from them.those extra funds will help your 401k grow faster throughout the life of the account.