The Most Important Retirement Chart You'll Ever See

A good chart can completely change the way you think about investing and retirement planning. There's no single graphic that's going to tell you everything you need to know, but there are some that contain more valuable lessons than others. One particular chart is extremely common, but it illustrates more important concepts than most people realize.

At first glance, a chart of the S&P 500's performance over the past few decades probably isn't very illuminating for most investors. We take for granted that the stock market has steadily risen over the decades, and most people expect their 401(k) to grow over time if it's invested. That's understandable, but a closer inspection of the chart reveals key investing concepts that serve as the foundation for retirement planning.