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Pension Benefit 1: Using Pretax Money Means an Instant 25 Percent Accelerator: Retirement accounts offer you a deal: You promise to invest your money for the long term, and in exchange they give you huge tax advantages. Because the money you're contributing isn't taxed until you withdraw it many years later (this is called "pretax money"), you have much more money to invest for compound growth--usually 25 to 40 percent more (although this could change for some higher earners in 2010).