Retirement Account Tier List: Every Account Ranked Worst To Best

▶ Every money tier list, worst to best:    • Money Tier Lists: Every Option Ranked Wors...   Last video: Which Debt To Pay Off First? Debt Tier List, Worst To Best    • Which Debt To Pay Off First? Debt Tier Lis...   Every retirement account, ranked worst to best. Twelve places to put money for retirement, from the savings account at your bank to the ones your paycheck already touches, each graded by one number: what $10,000 of your pay turns into as money you can actually spend after 30 years, after every federal tax. The line is the same $10,000 with no special account at all: about $50,400 in a plain brokerage account. F tier: savings account, high-yield savings, variable annuity. C tier: small-company 401(k) with no match, a Trump account (parent money), a nondeductible IRA. B tier: plain brokerage, the line. A tier: traditional 401(k), Roth 401(k), Roth IRA. Then the S tier, and the one account worth about ten times the worst. Every limit and rate was checked in late September 2026, and they change, so check today's before you act. Every source is linked below, and every assumption, with the math, is pinned in the first comment. Not on the board: 403(b) and 457(b) plans grade roughly like the 401(k) rows, and SEP and Solo 401(k) plans are for the self-employed. Carrying a credit card balance? Pay it off in this order:    • Видео   Where your emergency fund should sit:    • Best Place To Keep Your Cash: Tier List, W...   Not financial advice. Sources IRS, 2026 401(k) and IRA limits ($24,500 / $7,500; Roth IRA phase-out from $153,000): https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-lim... IRS, 2026 tax brackets and capital gains rates (Rev. Proc. 2025-32): https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-rele... IRS Publication 969, health savings accounts: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969 IRS, required minimum distributions: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/... IRS Topic 557, additional tax on early distributions: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc557 IRS, Form 8606 instructions (nondeductible IRAs): https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8606 IRS / Treasury, Trump accounts guidance: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury... FDIC national rates (savings deposits): https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-a... SEC, Variable Annuities: What You Should Know: https://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/var... ICI / ISS MI, Defined Contribution Plan Profile, 2023 data (plan costs by plan size): https://www.ici.org/system/files/2026... Vanguard, How America Saves 2026: https://workplace.vanguard.com/insigh... Devenir, 2025 year-end HSA research report: https://www.devenir.com/research/2025... Chapters 0:00 Same pay, ten times the retirement 1:10 The board and the line 2:44 F tier: savings, high-yield, the annuity 6:17 C tier: the small 401(k), the kids' account, the nondeductible IRA 9:54 B tier: the line 10:26 A tier: 401(k), Roth 401(k), Roth IRA 12:57 The top two 13:12 S tier: the HSA 14:57 Number one 17:13 Which box did you tick?