Even so, since they allow investors to build tax-deferred income until distribution, IRAs are still valuable tools for retirement savings. “If you’re already maxed out [in your annual 401(k) contribution], it’s a great way to do supplemental savings,” Graff said.

Graff reminded us that Roth IRAs can’t be claimed as a deduction like traditional IRAs. He added that although the Roth conversion is not a “popular item” due to the subsequent increase in tax rates, the charitable rollover was extended in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 for rollovers made before Feb. 1. “It’s a way to make a contribution and avoid limits on items that apply in 2013,” Graff added.

Annuities’ tax-deferred growth is one of the biggest draws for investors. A report released in March by the Insured Retirement Institute found almost three-quarters of boomers consider tax deferral an important factor in picking any retirement product, and about 20 percent said it was their primary reason for owning an annuity specifically.

“One of the things annuities do is allow savings to grow faster,” Cathy Weatherford, president and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute, told AdvisorOne on Friday. They’re especially helpful for investors who have contributed the maximum to their 401(k) allowed by the IRS ($17,000 in 2012 and $17,500 for 2013), she added, “you can add additional savings in a tax-deferred way.”

Weatherford pointed out that annuities are useful for people who don’t have access to other retirement plans. “Four in 10 workers don’t have access to a defined contribution retirement plan through their employer,” she said. “Using an annuity can help them get further down the road.”

Defined benefit plans have “gone the way of the dinosaur,” she said. Now employees have to take responsibility for their own retirements, and they’re using tax deferral as a way to “shore up” their savings. For employees who take assets out of their employer’s plan when they retire, “an annuity can be helpful in driving lifetime income” in a way that’s similar to what they would have gotten from a defined benefit plan.

“Our research has shown that Americans value tax deferral for retirement so they can save and build their nest egg without paying taxes on it while they’re still working,” she said. “Advisors have to remain vigilant, especially at a time when their clients are becoming more responsible for their retirement.

“It’s not that the federal government never gets that money. It’ll be taxed at distribution. It’s just a delayed entry into federal coffers.”

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For more tax stories and advice, check out AdvisorOne’s 20 Days of Tax Planning Advice for 2013home page.