If you're a younger person, you know there are very few pensions out there and Social Security won't be around to sustain you during the golden years. Yet a new report from the Investment Company Institute reveals that only a little more than 1 in 10 people will open an IRA in 2008. If you're under age 40, there's no way you'll be able to retire unless you start saving now.

The problem is that people don't understand some of the basics about retirement planning. The AARP reports that just about half of Americans have no idea what an IRA is. Does it stand for the Irish Republican Army? No, it's an individual retirement arrangement in IRSpeak -- also known colloquially as an individual retirement account. There are so many kinds of IRAs that it's easy to get confused.

Here's what you need to know: The average person is eligible for a Roth IRA -- unless you're bringing in more than $100K individually or $150K as a family. You can open an IRA and pop in as much as $5K this year. That money will grow tax-free and it will be spent tax-free in retirement. Do you want to work forever? Probably not, so you've got to prepare financially to live long into your retirement.

Don't use a bank to open an IRA. Banks are strictly for short-term parking of your money. In the long run, you want to be in mutual funds. That's where you essentially pool money with other investors and put it into stocks and bonds. Clark's 2 year old son Grant has a Roth that was opened after he received a handsome check after being featured in a commercial. Clark put the money into a target retirement fund 2050, which means the investments will automatically adjust from risky investments to less risky ones as 2050 approaches and Grant gets ready to retire at age 44 -- lucky boy! For more on retirement planning, check out Clark's investment guide.