I don't think that you can do a 401K pre-tax without earned income. But in any case at your age a Roth IRA makes a lot more sense for a variety of reasons. It allows the money to grow without tax consequences so all of your future withdrawals including gains are tax free. And in the event that you need to withdraw any portion of it in the future before retirement age you can always access that portion which was your contributions without tax consequences. A hardship withdrawal from a 401K will trigger your standard tax rate plus a 10% penalty under the current tax code.
Obviously none of us can guarantee what the tax code will be in the future so you simply have to work with what's available now. As to where to put the money I would do a lot of reading on investments and / or talk to someone with a lot of experience whom you trust (parent / friend etc.) or you could find a fee only financial adviser and get some advice. Be wary of commissioned brokers and financial advisors as they do not always have your best interest at heart but are looking at their best commission opportunity. I'm not suggesting they are all bad people but you are taking your chances in choosing one at random.
Starting Score: 500's
