I’m 67 years old and have worked hard to max out multiple retirement accounts — which ones should I tap into first once I retire?

But saving is only one part of the foundation. Making money last is the mortar that keeps it all together.

To that end, you have to be strategic about tapping your savings. That means coming up with a withdrawal rate that works for you. It also means knowing which of your retirement accounts to take money from first. Assuming you have a mix of accounts that include savings, a brokerage account, a traditional IRA, and a Roth IRA, here’s the order you may want to work with.

Start with your taxable investment account

Logically, you’ve placed some of your retirement savings into a taxable brokerage account. IRAs (and 401(k) plans, for that matter) force you to wait until age 59 1/2 to withdraw money penalty-free, and they limit the amount of money you can contribute toward retirement on an annual basis.

A brokerage account lets you invest as much money as possible in a given year. And you can withdraw from that account without a penalty at any time. It pays to tap your brokerage account first because, in retirement, you're not enjoying tax-deferred or tax-free gains. You might as well leave your accounts that are getting those benefits alone as long as possible.

Next, tap your traditional IRA

If you have a traditional IRA, you'll have to use it at some point to fulfill your required minimum distribution (RMD). Failing to take an RMD results in a 25% penalty.

If you're 67 now, RMDs start at age 73. But even if you're not there yet, it's smart to take money out of a traditional IRA next because your associated tax bill is pretty predictable.

You don't, however, know what the future has in store for tax rates. If they go up after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires at the end of 2025, your traditional IRA withdrawals could cost you more. So it pays to withdraw that money now because if anything, tax rates may go up over time, not down.

Tap your Roth IRA third

Roth IRAs offer the benefit of tax-free investment gains. That's a perk you want to take advantage of for as long as possible. That’s why you should leave your Roth IRA alone for as long as possible.

Also, if you did a Roth IRA conversion before retirement, you may need to wait before you're eligible for tax-free withdrawals. You typically need your money in a Roth IRA for five years to get that benefit. If you moved money into a Roth IRA in the past year or so, that's another reason to let your balance sit and grow.

Only raid your savings account when you need to

You may have money in a savings account on top of a brokerage account, traditional IRA and Roth IRA. That's money you should aim to reserve for emergency expenses or periods when your portfolio is down.

Liquidating investments when their value has dropped forces you to lock in losses. If you have regular savings to tap, you can use that money to cover your bills as needed and ride out market downturns. Even though your savings may be growing slower in retirement than your brokerage account, traditional IRA or Roth IRA, that money should serve as your safety net, making it the last bastion of defense when needed.