Account Types: 401k, IRA, Roth and When to Use Each

Most people pick a 401k or IRA the way they pick a coffee order—by habit, not strategy. But here’s the twist: choosing *when* you pay taxes on your retirement money can matter more than *how much* you save. Today we’ll walk through three futures where that choice plays out.

About 92% of large U.S. employers now offer a Roth 401(k)—yet most workers either ignore it or stumble into a choice without a plan. That’s like having two different weather forecasts for your retirement and never checking which season you’re actually packing for.

Up to now, we’ve focused on *what* the main account types are. Next, we’re going to get more practical and talk about *when* each one tends to shine: higher vs. lower income years, career breaks, late-career catch-up phases, and even those in-between years after you stop working but before Social Security or RMDs kick in.