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REDDIT

Opening retirement account traditional or roth IRA?

F
Mar 26, 2025 · 19:03

My employer does not offer a 401k, so I am looking to open an IRA to start saving for retirement. I understand the difference between roth and traditional, but I don't understand what would best suit me. Seems that some people say traditional is best, some say roth is best and others say a mix of both.

From what I understand, and traditional is pretax contributions, which should add up to more overtime, vs a roth that is post tax contribution. However the traditional you have to pay taxes on when withdrawing, and what tax bracket you fall into plays a major part in it.

So I guess I'm trying to understand how each is beneficial, would the traditional be more beneficial just to cover like living expenses at retirement and a roth more for luxury items at retirement?