<prompt> Human: Let me explain.I ran two hypothetical scenarios and determined that the benefits of the difference in the expected marginal tax rate paid in a Roth vs. Traditional scenario is largely dependent on a the amount of time one plans on being retired; and b what one would do with the initial tax savings if they contributed to a Traditional IRA.The setupI created two saving scenarios based on the same assumptions: 1,000 starting balance 5,500 annual contribution with 7 growth over 25 years Roth IRA contributions paid at a 22 marginal rate a somewhat typical marginal rate for many consumers Traditional IRA payouts taxed at a 12 marginal rate a somewhat typical marginal rate for many retirees Annual retirement withdrawal rate of 4 Retirement period of 25 yearsResultsAt the end of 25 years, both accounts ended with an account balance of 769,469.20. Over the course of that time, the Roth IRA holder paid 30,470 in taxes up front. Over the next 25 years, the Traditional IRA holder both received a net annual payout of 12 less than the Roth holder and paid a total of 68,173.30 in taxes, more than double the amount paid by the Roth IRA holder. All things considered, the Roth IRA holder will net 37,703.30 more money than the Traditional IRA holder.The point in which the amount of taxes paid between the two retirement accounts was approximately equal fell during the 13th year of retirement. Despite the overall financial parity between the two at this point, the Roth holder still netted 12 more in payouts in retirement because they had paid the tax up front.Opportunity CostOf course, the above scenario is based on the assumption that the initial tax savings in the Traditional IRA were absorbed into that individuals annual expenses. However, if this person were instead able to invest the money they saved through the deferred taxes, the results change significantly. Assuming the Traditional IRA holder invested the difference saved in a regular taxable account and kept to the 4 withdrawal rate in retirement while paying a 15 capital gains tax on withdrawals, suddenly the Traditional IRA holders overall nest egg jumps considerably and they will receive a significantly larger combined payout between the Traditional IRA account and the normal taxable account. Over the course of 25 years of retirement, the Taxable investment account will net an additional 106,343.61 in payouts.In other words, this savings scenario will net 68,640.31 more than the maxed Roth IRA scenario, or a 7 higher annual net payout.While my assumptions and assessment of taxes paid on a non-tax advantaged investment account are a little overly simplified, I believe the underlying principle still holds true:ConclusionAll else equal, in most cases it is more financially advantageous to contribute to a Traditional IRA over a Roth IRA as long as the difference saved in deferred taxes is still invested, even if that investment is in a normal taxable account. In other words, at a for example 25 marginal tax rate, contributing 5,500 per year to a Roth IRA or contributing 5,500 to a Traditional IRA and 1,375 to a taxable investment account will result in the exact same end-of-year numbers on your balance sheet. However, saving under the latter scenario will net signficantly more in retirement and thus is the preferred method of saving.Assistant: You could have saved yourself some time by just saying if your marginal tax rate will be lower in retirement Roth IRA contributions paid at a 22 marginal rate a somewhat typical marginal rate for many consumers Traditional IRA payouts taxed at a 12 marginal rate a somewhat typical marginal rate for many retireesHuman: Youre missing my point. Firstly, nearly everyones marginal tax rate will be lower in retirement than when theyre working. If all youre looking at is contributing to Roth vs. Traditional, it is usually better to contribute to Roth, even if youll be at a lower marginal tax rate in retirement see the Results paragraphs.My point is that contributing to a Roth in any circumstance is less advantageous than contributing the same amount in a Traditional account and using the saved taxes to invest elsewhere see Conclusion paragraphs.  <response>: Firstly, nearly everyones marginal tax rate will be lower in retirement than when theyre working.The entire point of a Roth is that this may not be true in many scenarios. For example, you may be earning 25k as a 25 year old, but expect to be withdrawing 50k a year in retirement. Roth IRAs are recommended for young earners early in their careers. You are correct in that most earners at their peak incomes typically aged 40-55 should choose a traditional IRA. 