Why invest in retirement?

[Jenna Stonecipher]

OK, I've got a small pension roll-over that I need to handle. So, I've been doing the research on solo401k's and SDIRA's. This may sound like a ridiculous question (and maybe it's youthful naivety) but I don't really understand the logic behind RE retirement investing.

Why should I sock my money into a 401k/IRA, which would require me to reinvest all of my cashflow into it, when I can invest in RE now and keep my cashflow for reinvesting in real time? I understand it's pretax and you are able to leverage your money better. What I don't understand is investing in something I won't benefit from for another 34 years…

Its feels like I'm choosing between investing in an income stream now (and going forward) vs. investing in an enhanced lifestyle for the last 10-20 years of my life.

Any thoughts are appreciated.