with a traditional IRA/401k you save today at the marginal rate (both state/federal) vs a Roth where you pay taxes at the marginal rate on them. In retirement,

with a traditional IRA/401k you save today at the marginal rate (both state/federal) vs a Roth where you pay taxes at the marginal rate on them. In retirement, a traditional IRA/401k you only pay taxes at the amortized rate (for all your income) through all the brackets at the Federal level (and have more of an option to live in a tax free state than you did as a worker, to save even more). i.e. I'd argue that most people will be paying lower taxes in retirement (even without moving to a low/no tax state) even if their post retirement income is greater than their pre retirement income and tax brackets haven't changed.