You’re forgetting the magic of compound interest. After 25 years of depositing 7k (that’s the current limit) you’d have $600k with a cost basis of $180k assumin

You’re forgetting the magic of compound interest. After 25 years of depositing 7k (that’s the current limit) you’d have $600k with a cost basis of $180k assuming the money was put into index funds. That $180k was all pre-tax meaning you probably only put in $120k of it or so assuming high marginal rates.