Because TIPS have some quirky tax features, I assembled the ladder in my 401(k) and individual retirement accounts, where the money can accrue tax-deferred.

Major firms such as Fidelity, iShares, Pimco, Schwab and Vanguard offer TIPS funds with annual expenses of 0.2% or less. Although funds are more convenient, in most cases their holdings are dynamic, so their future cash flows aren’t precisely knowable.

If inflation increases the face value of TIPS, that growth is federally taxable in the year it occurs, even though you can’t collect any cash from it until the TIPS matures or you sell. (TIPS are exempt from state and local income tax.)