Pensions or benefits? Read this

Those of us who just graduated from college now have jobs (or maybe not). With a job, chances are we'll also encounter benefits. What are some ways to maximize wealth given to us from those benefits? I'm not expert, so I can't tell you what stocks to invest in, but if you utilize a few common sense points when dealing with direct monetary benefits (like a pension, 401k, any other retirement package, matching, etc), you can have your money work harder for you.

A.)
At the minimum put in as much to your pension/401k that your company will match. That's free money, and a surprisingly small amount of Americans take advantage of this incentive to help themselves in the future because they spend so much money (at a local trucking company in the Bay Area, just ONE employee out of over 50, including both truck drivers and office staff, take advantage of a corporate 25%-100% match given to them up to 8%, the tax-free amount, of their salary). It's understandable that bills/rent/utilities whatever are expensive, and maybe you don't want to put a full 8% into your 401k. But you really should take advantage of the free money if you can, and cut down on spending now. Monthly subscriptions are especially costly - see what you pay for (cable, magazines, movie rentals etc.) and try to cut down on them so you can meet your employer's maximum match.

B.)
A better strategy, "Dollar-Cost Averaging"
This is a great investing strategy, and it will guarantee you generous income accrual over a long period of time (aka, 30 years). How to do it:
1.) Decide upon a set amount each set period (like each pay period, each month, etc.) that you want to invest in a long-term investment account (401k, pension, personal account, etc.).
2.) Then, select a fluctuating but historically stable market to invest in that historically gives more generous returns (like the NYSE, NASDAQ, S&P 500, DJIA, etc.)
3.) Invest a set amount (not a set number of shares) each period. Regardless of market fluctuations, invest the exact same amount each time period.
4.) ***Only utilize this strategy if you don't pay commission or fees every month for investing. Paying commission each month or fees will take a great chunk of your principle, and hence will greatly diminish expected returns***

What does this do? It enables you to invest in more shares when the market is down, and invest in less shares when the market is up. This way you buy stocks when they're cheaper, and fewer when they're more expensive. It sounds blindingly simple, and possibly because it's so easy Wall-Street analysts poo-poo this idea as being simple minded and boring. People who use this strategy are even dubbed "turtles." But the funny thing is, dollar-cost averaging works out better than many mutual funds because there are no fees involved, meaning you don't have to pay for the fund manager's Mercedes and house in Cabo.