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RE :”It looked at data from Denmark, where the pension system is similar to that in the U.S., and found that every dollar that government spent on tax breaks increased total savings by about one penny.
That’s not much of a payoff. Meanwhile, the Tax Policy Center in Washington has found that about 80% of retirement savings benefits flow to the top 20% of earners. Eliminating the deduction for retirement savings would hit the well-off disproportionately, a condition with a lot of appeal in the current political climate.
....
Yet the Danish study suggests that little would change if the tax incentives were removed. Only 15% of savers actively respond to tax incentives, the study found. Far more important are features like automatic enrollment and contribution rates that automatically increase with pay raises.
So hold on to your wallet. Congress has many options when it comes to tapping this vast reservoir. It could eliminate the deduction altogether or just for top earners, further restrict the amount that is deductible (currently $17,500; for those over 50, $23,000), start taxing retirement savings growth, or take back the part that has grown tax-free.”

Summary:
1) 401Ks are tax free, more specifically income tax free (not true)
2) Only the rich use these (not true)
3) 401Ks dont encourage retirement savings (not true)
4) Getting rid of these tax deductions(???) would be popular (not true) now that everyone wants to soak the rich.

You see 401Ks are NOT tax free as Time claims they are, they are tax defered. We pay the tax when we withdraw the money in retirement.
Time would be useful for cleaning up after doing the morning business, that is aabout it

“and found that every dollar that government spent on tax breaks increased total savings by about one penny.”
Do they even read the propaganda they write?
If I get a “tax break” on money I put into a 401K, it is by virtue of money that is removed from my taxable income. If I put $1000 into the IRA, I pay on $1000 less taxable income. If I’m in a 15% tax bracket, they “spent” $150 and “total savings” increased by $1000.
But the government didn’t “spend” squat, they just didn’t get their hands on a small amount of MY money, YET.

You see 401Ks are NOT tax free as Time claims they are, they are tax defered.

The return on investment (ROI) from Roth 401(k)'s and Roth IRA's are tax-free. Your contributions are taxed, but all withdrawals are tax-free -- including all earnings.

And, there is no minimum required distribution for Roth IRA/401(k), so you can pass it on to a heir, tax-free. However, your heir will be required to make minimum required distributions.