When you contribute to a Roth IRA you typically don’t have to worry about paying taxes on that money or its investment gains ever again. And employers are increasingly adding a Roth option to their 401(k) plans. Aon surveyed 400 employers covering 10 million employees in 2013 and found that half now offer a Roth 401(k) plan. Here are some of the benefits
of saving for retirement in a Roth account:
Having a tax-free account in addition to your pre-tax savings gives you more options to reduce taxes in retirement.
Tax complications don’t end when you leave the workforce. In fact, your taxes in retirement can actually be more complicated than in the years when you were working. For the most part, you’ll want to withdraw money you have in taxable and Roth accounts first and delay paying taxes on your savings in traditional retirement accounts as long as possible. But it’s also possible that you could pay significantly higher taxes if you delay too long and your traditional retirement account gets big enough for required minimum distributions to force you into a higher tax bracket. With money in different pots, you’ll have a chance to run different scenarios and maximize your after-tax retirement income.
