Investment earnings in pension funds are almost universally excluded from income tax while accumulating, prior to payment. Payments to retirees and their beneficiaries also sometimes receive favorable tax treatment. In return for a pension scheme's tax advantaged status, governments typically enact restrictions to discourage access to a pension fund's assets before retirement. In the United States, tax-advantaged retirement accounts include 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, individual retirement accounts, and supplemental retirement accounts. These accounts have proliferated since they were introduced in 1978. As of 2015, they accounted for half of all long-term mutual fund assets. Annuities Investing in annuities may allow investors to realize tax advantages that are not realized through other tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as 401k and IRAs. One of the great advantages of annuities is they allow an investor to store away large amounts of cash and defer paying taxes. There is no yearly limit to contributions for annuities. This is especially useful for those approaching retirement age that may not have saved large sums throughout previous years. The total investment compounds annually without any federal taxes. This allows each dollar in the entire investment to accrue interest, which could potentially be an advantage compared to taxable investments. Additionally, upon cashing the annuity out, the investor can decide to receive a lump-sum payment, or develop a more spread out payout plan. Education savings Tax-advantaged savings accounts are designed to encourage saving for education expenses. In the United States, tax-advantaged savings vehicles include Coverdell education savings accounts and 529 plans. Medical savings In Singapore and other countries, medical savings accounts are tax-deferred. Real estate In order to encourage home ownership, there are tax deductions on mortgage payments. In the United States, real estate investments yield considerable tax advantages. One benefit is the ability to regain the cost of income producing (for example, commercial real estate) properties through depreciation. When a property is bought in the United States, the cost of the building and land are capitalized. If the building is a commercial property or a rental property, used in a business, the cost of the building is depreciated over 39 years for non-residential buildings and 27.5 years for residential buildings using the straight-line depreciation method for tax purposes. The building’s cost is written off over the lifespan of the building by annual depreciation deductions. Thus, the building owner receives these depreciation deductions as tax advantages at their income tax