• The ability to grow your assets tax-free
• The ability to generate tax-free income in retirement
• The ability to use tax-free distributions to avoid exposing your investment income to the 3.8% healthcare surtax
• The ability to distribute assets to a trust beneficiary income tax-free without triggering high trust income taxes
• The elimination of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for Roth IRA owners
• The ability to recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion back to a traditional IRA, if done within time limits allowed
• The ability to transfer assets income tax-free to your beneficiaries
• The ability for Roth IRA beneficiaries to stretch tax-free distributions over their lifetime
• The ability to remove any uncertainty of what future tax rates might be
• The ability of anyone (regardless of income) to convert traditional IRA or plan assets to a Roth IRA
• The ability to make contributions from earned income after age 70 1/2
• The ability of a working spouse to make a contribution for a non-working spouse
• The ability to convert traditional IRA and plan assets without incurring a 10% early distribution penalty
• The ability to do partial conversions to maximize your tax planning strategies
• The ability to convert inherited employer plan assets to an inherited Roth IRA
• The ability to purchase almost unlimited investment options with the exception of tax code prohibited investments in collectibles and life insurance inside the plan

There may be several points you have not considered.  Please call the office and set up an appointment if you would like to discuss any of these points in more detail as it applies to your personal situation.

Next week I will tell you about some of the limitations of owning a Roth IRA, and follow up with the same comparison for Roth 401(k)s in Parts III and IV.