Many retirees end up struggling financially to some degree once they move over to a fixed income. This can hold true for seniors who have both Social Security and outside savings to fall back on.

The problem with personal savings, though, is that the IRS can get a piece of it if you have your nest egg in a traditional IRA or 401(k) plan. So if you want to set yourself up for more retirement income, you may want to opt for a Roth savings account, which allows tax-free withdrawals.

For years, Roth IRAs had a distinct benefit over Roth 401(k)s -- they were the only tax-advantaged retirement savings plan to not impose required minimum distributions (RMDs). But starting in 2024, Roth 401(k)s will stop forcing savers to take RMDs. And that could be reason enough to make a Roth 401(k) your long-term savings plan of choice.

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Benefits galore

You don't get an up-front tax break on the money you put into a Roth 401(k). But what you do get is the benefit of tax-free investment gains in your account, as well as tax-free withdrawals. The latter can be huge in retirement, when every single dollar really counts. And starting in 2024, you don't have to worry about RMDs in a Roth 401(k), either.

Granted, RMDs can be more of a problem in a traditional IRA or 401(k) because they create an automatic tax liability. With a Roth 401(k), all RMDs would really do is force you to remove some of your money and lose out on tax-advantaged growth. They wouldn't increase your tax bill because Roth withdrawals aren't taxable. But still, it pays to be able to avoid RMDs if you can, so you have complete control over your savings.

Not only will a Roth 401(k) give you the benefit of tax-free withdrawals in your account and no RMDs, but you'll have a much higher contribution limit to take advantage of during your working years. Right now, Roth IRAs max out at $6,500 a year for savers under 50 and $7,000 for those 50 and over. With a Roth 401(k), these limits are currently $22,500 and $30,000, respectively. Plus, any time you save in a 401(k), there's the potential to get employer matching contributions to help you grow your balance even more.

Finally, Roth 401(k)s, unlike Roth IRAs, don't have income limits attached to them. So if you have access to one of these plans, you're able to save in it -- period.

Set yourself up with more retirement income

Not having to pay taxes on retirement plan withdrawals could go a long way later in life. So if you've been saving for your senior years in a traditional retirement account, you may want to make a switch over to a Roth.

Doing so will trigger some taxes when you do that conversion, so that's something you'll need to plan for. But you're probably better off paying those taxes now than having to deal with them in retirement, when money might inevitably be tighter.