help me understand how this works

[onlyuptome]

Let's say I make about $70k per year as a single person with no dependents.  I contribute to a pension fund which I can draw from at retirement which I plan to do at age 55.  My employer offers a 457 plan, and because I am now 50, I can contribute 24K to that.  I could also contribute $6500 to a traditional IRA (or roth, but let's say traditional).  So I could lower my taxable income by $30,500, right?

According to IRS form 8880 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8880.pdf) I cannot claim any tax credit because my income is over $30,500.  So where is the advantage in sticking all my money into pre-tax saving vehicles?  What am I missing? 

[Wile E. Coyote]

The benefit is that you don't pay current tax on the income that you put into the qualified plans.  The credit that you are referring to is an additional benefit for lower income taxpayers.

[forummm]

The tax credit you mention is just gravy for the lower income people. But even without getting it, the benefit you get from using retirement accounts is that you don't have to pay income taxes on your 457 and IRA contributions. That's a huge deal. Later, when you are retired and pull out that money, you probably won't have to pay very much (or perhaps any) tax on it at all. So it's a gift from the tax code.