This may be heresy to some, since Roth accounts are seen by many advisers as primarily for younger investors.

In a Roth account, investors will not owe taxes at distribution, when the investments have appreciated over time.

And even if you are eligible, you cannot put more than about $5,000 a year into a Roth account.

For more information about designated Roth accounts, see chapter 10.

Because of the impact of taxes, they can save more earned income for retirement in the new Roth account than in a regular 401(k).

Here is how: Assume that an heir is born today and made the beneficiary of a new $2,000 Roth account.

Moreover, the failure to contribute $2,000 now could cost him a lot more by retirement, considering the tax-free growth of a Roth account.

For the same reasons, the Roth account is a good way to build sizable estates and to pass on more of them to heirs.

Under the new law, existing I.R.A.'s can be rolled over into Roth accounts.

Wealthier people might favor Roth accounts as an efficient way to pass assets to their heirs.