A Traditional IRA (Individual Retirement Account) offers tax benefits upfront—you may be able to deduct your contributions from your current year's taxes, reducing what you owe right now. Your money then grows tax-deferred until you start taking withdrawals in retirement, at which point you'll pay taxes on both contributions and earnings. There may be a 10% withdrawal penalty on distributions before 59 1/2 with some exceptions.

This approach makes sense if you expect to be in a lower tax bracket when you retire than you are today. Required minimum distributions start at age 73, meaning the government eventually wants its tax revenue. Traditional IRAs work well for people who want immediate tax relief and believe their future tax rate will be lower than their current rate.