How to maximize your retirement money

One of the first lessons of saving for retirement is to try to max out your 401(k) or individual retirement account (IRA), but some financial advisers are warning people not to put all their eggs in one basket.
If you have a limited amount of money to stash away for retirement, it’ll serve you better if you split that money into different types of savings vehicles, including brokerage and Roth accounts, they said.  
Having different buckets to draw money from to fund your spending in retirement offers a lot of benefits, but the most notable one is tax savings, they said.
“You don’t want all your money in tax-deferred accounts,” said Daniel Razvi, senior partner and chief operating officer at Higher Ground Financial Group. “IRAs are the biggest scam in taxes today.”
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“Say we start a business, and I put in 25%, you put in 75% and do more work,” Razvi said. “You don’t read the fine print of the contract like most people don’t, and 20 years go by, and the business is amazing. Now I’m seeing the contract and realize I have the ability to change the percentage without your approval and take more. Would you enter a business deal like that? If your dollars are in an IRA, that’s the contract you have. The government decides 40 years from now what the tax will be at that time.”
“If you have a net worth of $2 million and $1.7 million is in IRAs, think of how trapped you are if taxes go up,” said Joseph Patrick Roop of Belmont Capital Advisors. “You only have an IRA and 401(k), and it’s all taxable.”
“I love tax-deferred growth, but are you tax-deferring yourself into higher brackets?” said Nicholas Yeomans, president and chief compliance officer at Yeomans Consulting Group.
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Roth, traditional brokerage and health savings accounts give you more control over your income and taxes, advisers said.
Most non-spouse beneficiaries of Roth accounts will have to liquidate the account within 10 years from the original owner’s death, but they don’t have to do so until the last year, which allows the investment to grow until then. They also don’t pay taxes on the money.
Inherited brokerage accounts get a step-up in basis, meaning the account is adjusted to the current market value at the owner’s death. If immediately liquidated, there’s no capital gains tax to pay, Yeomans said.
A non-spouse beneficiary of an HSA account would have to liquidate the fund and pay the income tax the year the owner dies, though.
First, if your company offers contribution matches, always contribute enough to those accounts. “Never turn your back on free money,” Yeomans said. “That’s a 100% rate of return on your dollars. Get the full match.”
After that, advisers differ slightly on what to do. For example,
“Everyone always talks about asset diversification, but we need to focus on tax diversification because the future of taxes is unknown.”
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and  subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.