Are ETFs good for retirement?

ETFs can work well in retirement accounts because they're diversified, transparent, and often low cost. Many retirement portfolios use broad stock and bond ETFs as core holdings.

Account type matters more than the ETF wrapper for taxes. In a retirement account (like an IRA), the tax treatment differs from a taxable brokerage account, which can simplify the impact of distributions.

A common approach is to choose a mix of equity and bond ETFs that matches your risk tolerance and time horizon, then periodically rebalance. The "best" ETFs for retirement are usually the ones you can hold through market cycles without overreacting.