The government gives you a big incentive to save for retirement in a 401(k) or individual retirement account (IRA) . You don't have to pay taxes on any of your contributions to those accounts in the year you make them. On top of that, the investments in those accounts grow tax-free; there are no taxes on dividends or capital gains. That can encourage a lot of investors to keep money in those accounts as long as possible.

Unfortunately, the government won't let you keep growing your savings tax-free forever. Eventually, it imposes required minimum distributions , or RMDs, on traditional IRAs and 401(k) accounts. Currently, anyone age 73 or older must take minimum distributions each year, and some inherited IRA holders must take them as well. You'll have to pay regular income tax

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