Suze Orman swears by one retirement account: ‘You have to be crazy' to use another—'I don't care what tax bracket you're in'

If you're saving in a tax-advantaged retirement account, you generally have one of two flavors to choose from.

The choice lies in when and how you're taxed. "Traditional" versions of 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts are funded with pre-tax dollars, meaning you get a tax break in the year you make contributions. Roth accounts work in reverse: You pay taxes up front, but can withdraw your money tax-free, provided you meet a few rules, in retirement.

The argument over which type of account to use typically revolves around how much money you make. Early-career, low-income workers are better off in a Roth, the thinking goes, because they'd save money by paying taxes when they're in a low bracket instead of waiting until they're bringing in more in retirement. High earners, meanwhile, are generally steered toward traditional accounts and their upfront tax break.

However, some money pros don't think you should bother with that particular calculus.

"I don't care what tax bracket you're in," says Suze Orman, a financial expert and host of the "Women & Money (and Everyone Smart Enough to Listen)" podcast. "You have to be crazy to do anything other than a Roth retirement account."

Why some experts love Roths

Orman's thinking echoes that of Ed Slott, a certified public accountant, founder of IRAHelp.com and one of the internet's leading Roth evangelists.

When it comes to the question of paying your taxes now or later, nearly everyone would be wise to pay now for two reasons, he says.

1. Roths don't tax your gains

Investors in traditional accounts can deduct the amount they put in from their taxable income for the year they made the contribution. But in exchange for that break, they're generally not allowed to take their money out until retirement without penalty. And when they do finally withdraw it, they owe income tax on all of it — their contributions and their gains.

If the market goes up over the course of your career as an investor — and, historically, it has — then every cent you earn is adding to your eventual tax burden.

"That tax is constantly building," Slott previously told CNBC Make It. "The values are up, but that means the eventual share that will be going to Uncle Sam will be higher, too."

Roths, meanwhile, tax your contributions going in. You can withdraw up to what you've contributed at any time from a Roth without penalty. And provided you're 59½ and have owned the account for at least five years, everything you take out of a Roth IRA or 401(k) is tax-free.

2. Roths take advantage of low tax rates

The traditional thinking around traditional versus Roth accounts revolves around your personal tax rate. High earners should pay tax later; low earners should pay it now.

But what about the overall tax rate? After all, the government could raise taxes across the board, which would generally spell bad news for those who put it off.

While no one can predict how tax rates will change in the coming decades, it's worth noting that tax rates are just about as low as they've ever been, says Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar, and the author of  "How To Retire."

"Tax rates are low, secularly, compared with where they've been historically," she says. "So the idea is that you're better off taking your tax medicine now at relatively low tax rates."

Consider your options before choosing

Benz, though, isn't quite as convinced as Orman or Slott that Roths make the most sense for everyone, period.

For one, if tax rates stay relatively low, the traditional logic may still apply to some retirement savers, she says.

"It depends on the household. For higher-income earners, their tax rates in their peak earnings years may be their highest level in their lifetime," she says. "So if they can get a tax break on their contributions, that may be the way to go."

Of course, it can be tricky to pinpoint exactly where you are in your career and retirement savings trajectory, which makes this a decision where professional input may be helpful.

"This is an area where financial planning software, a financial planner, can really add a lot of value to help do some projections in terms of how much you're contributing, how much you have already and what your tax rate will look like in retirement," Benz says.

What's more, Benz doesn't see the harm in having a mix of money in Roth and traditional accounts for retirees.

"The concept of tax diversification appeals to me. It's difficult to know where tax rates will go in the future. So having a combination will give you a blend," she says. "You're sort of diversifying the tax treatment of your investment assets. I think that makes sense, just as you would diversify other aspects of your investment portfolio across asset classes and across investment styles and sectors."

Basically, there's a chance that if you follow Orman and Slott's advice, and put everything into Roth accounts, you could end up paying more in taxes than you would have had you been a little more strategic.

But as Slott is fond of saying, you end up with a pretty decent consolation prize in retirement: "You've locked in a 0% tax rate on your retirement [withdrawals]."

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