You pay taxes when you withdraw from a 401k, and the IRS has minimum distribution requirements that ensure you will pay taxes on all that money at some point.

You pay taxes when you withdraw from a 401k, and the IRS has minimum distribution requirements that ensure you will pay taxes on all that money at some point. Personally I think a Roth IRA is the better deal from a tax standpoint -- pay taxes on contributions and then you're done. With a long enough time horizon and a little luck those contributions will be dwarfed by earnings, and I would rather pay taxes on the lesser amount. A savings account earning >=1% interest is a negligible tax burden. What you lose from inflation is far greater than what you pay in taxes. Even so, saying it's "the absolute worst place" to put money is beyond hyperbolic.