Whether it's pre-tax or post-tax, it's an ERISA account, which means it's mostly judgment proof. You could invest in a standard brokerage account with post-tax

Whether it's pre-tax or post-tax, it's an ERISA account, which means it's mostly judgment proof. You could invest in a standard brokerage account with post-tax money and you wouldn't get the ERISA protection. Also, retirement accounts allow you to specify to specify a beneficiary, which usurps the (long) probate process or any wills (making for a quick asset transfer). Death and judgments are certainly corner cases, but nonetheless add some intangible benefits.