This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

I have a two-letter word for you that could double or triple your retirement savings. It is the answer to each of the following questions:

1. Open an account with us and we will put together a portfolio of stocks and bonds for you.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

Brett Arenda, who writes a personal finance column for WSJ.com., has a hot tip for you. Buy shares in the Global Energy iShare.

According to Mr. Arenda, "You're already paying for the gasoline and energy at home. Shouldn't you be pocketing some of the profits as well?"

Here is my hot tip that will boost your retirement savings.

Don't listen to him or to any other stock picker.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

If that headline conjures up an image of a circus barker, you have hit the nail on the head.

Yet every day, millions of investors engage in the same kind of activity when they make investment decisions that are critical to their retirement planning.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

What is the biggest threat to your retirement savings?

You may be surprised to learn that it is the securities industry. Specifically, your "investment professional" to whom millions of investors entrust their retirement nest eggs.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

Question: What is better. Traditional or Roth IRA? I have my Roth IRA invested in the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGSTX)? I am 38 years old.

Answer: While this subject is not free of doubt, I prefer the Roth IRA. Both the Roth and traditional IRA's are tax-deferred accounts. But, unlike a traditional IRA, Roth IRA contributions are made with already-taxed income.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

The are many minefields for investors who want to save for retirement. Fortunately, the warning signs are clear. If you see any of these signs, you are driving on the road to financial perdition. Stop. Turn around and go in the opposite direction:

1. "This mutual fund has a 5-star Morningstar rating." It still is unlikely to beat an index fund with a comparable risk over the long term.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

Question: I have quit my job and taken my retirement monies, but I still need to leave my 401K alone for 4 more years. I can leave it there and let it ride, or with your suggestions I could switch it over to one that is doing better than my current one with Safeway Corp.

Answer: Since I don't know the investment options available in your current plan, I cannot evaluate whether you would be better off keeping your funds with that plan or rolling it over into an IRA. However, as a general matter, I can tell you that most 401(k) plans do not offer appropriate low cost index funds for their employees. If this is the case with your current plan, you might be better off rolling it over to an IRA.

If you decide to pursue this option, here is my advice:

First: Determine your asset allocation by taking an asset allocation questionnaire. You will find many on the internet, including one on my web site.

Second: Open an account with Vanguard. There are other excellent fund families you could consider, like Fidelity and T. Rowe Price. However, Vanguard has historically been the leader in offering low cost index funds.

Third: Invest 70% of the amount of your funds allocated to stocks in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX), and the balance of 30% in the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX). Invest 100% of the funds allocated to bonds in the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX).

Fourth: Once or twice a year, rebalance your portfolio to be sure that your asset allocation remains intact.

This simple portfolio has historically outperformed 95% of all professionally managed money over the long term. In your case, if you intend to withdraw the money in four years, it may or may not outperform the investments in your current 401(k) plan.

If you are in a 401(k) that does not offer these options, this is a way to make lemonade from lemons.

Dan Solin is the author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read (Perigee Books 2006) and The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read (Perigee Books, June 24, 2008). Visit his website at Smartestinvestmentbook.com.

This is part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

Question: Can a 72(t) distribution be taken while still employed?

Answer: Welcome to the complex world of section 72(t) distributions!

As a general rule, there is a 10% penalty if you withdraw funds from your qualified retirement account before age 59½. Under some circumstances, you can avoid this penalty if you qualify for "72(t)" distributions (named after the governing section of the Internal Revenue Code).

Whether you qualify for a 72(t) distribution depends on your age, whether you are disabled, whether the payments are part of a series of "substantially equal periodic payments" made over the period of your life expectancy, whether you have left employment and are age 55 or older, whether you intend to use the distributions for medical care expenses and other factors.

Because of the number and complexity of the issues involved, and the strict requirements imposed by the IRS on 72(t) distributions, you should seek the advice of an accountant or financial advisor with experience in setting up a plan that will qualify under section 72(t).

Dan Solin is the author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read (Perigee Books 2006) and The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read (Perigee Books, June 24, 2008). Visit his website at Smartestinvestmentbook.com.

This is part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

This is a very common question: How do you know when to invest? Have the markets bottomed out? Or are we in for a precipitous decline?

Here is the answer: No one knows.

Here is what we do know:

You are supposed to be able to trust and rely upon your broker or advisor, right? The securities industry spends hundreds of millions of advertising dollars to convince you that your reliance is justified.

The legal obligation of these "investment professionals" is very clear.

This is part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

If you are investing for retirement, you should be focused on the long term. Your primary concern is the amount of money you will accumulate for your retirement.

It is easy to lose this focus when the steady drumbeat from the financial media if rife with predictions of financial doom and gloom.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

Want to make a lot of money in a down market? Write a book predicting a financial meltdown.

It worked for Howard Ruff. He racked up huge sales with his book, How to Prosper During the coming Bad Years, written in 1979.

This is part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

I am sure you wouldn't entrust your health to a medical professional who didn't have a complete knowledge of her area of expertise.

Yet millions of investors rely on "investment professionals" who can't define risk, much less measure it. If you don't know the risk of your portfolio, you can't invest intelligently for retirement.

This is part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

An overriding concern of investors is saving for retirement. Yet the data indicates that, when you consider the ravages of fees, inflation and taxes, the average equity investor actually loses money.

These investors would have been better off not investing at all.