re: Retirement

quote:

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The question is what tax rate they will pay in retirement, not that they will pay a higher tax rate later in their career than earlier, which should be just about a given.

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This is an incorrect oversimplification for many reasons.

1) Both of my parents will earn more money in retirement than they do right now just months before they retire due to pensions and good savings.

2) The tax rate during retirement is NOT the only tax rate that matters. The tax rate from the day you start earning income until the day you die matters when analyzing roth vs traditional options. Do you know what future tax rates will be? most people don't. Even if you earn more you could be paying less later in life. Even if you earn less, you could be paying more later in life due to tax increases. This is why well balanced investing typically includes contributing both to a Roth and a Traditional option to hedge risk of tax change.

At some point as you get older, the benefits of the Roth options will become less and less significant to the point that it will likely make more sense to stop contributing to Roth options. When you are within a few years of retirement, you should have a better idea of your tax bracket for retirement and can make much more informed choices.