Let me see if I can explain. For qualified dividend income (which is typically most domestic equity fund dividends and a lion's share of international equity fund dividends) and long-term capital gains the effective tax rate is 0% for people who are in the 15% tax bracket or lower ($96k in income in 2016 for a couple filing jointly with standard deductions or $48k for a single). For people in 25% and higher tax brackets, QDI/LTCG are generally taxed at 15% instead of 0%.
So if you are in the 15% tax bracket or lower, then most dividends and LTCG are tax-free. If your taxable accounts are cash in an on-line savings account for spending (much better return than a money market) and equities, then your taxes will be lower.
OTOH... by putting equities into a tax-deferred account as you intend to do, you are effectively converting tax preferenced income (0% if you are in the 15% tax bracket, 15% for most others) into ordinary income (taxed at 15% or higher rates).
In addition, many international equity funds pay allow foreign tax credit for foreign taxes that the fund paid (direct reduction to your tax bill) if in a taxable account but you get NO benefit if they are in a tax-deferred account.
You may ask... well then where do I get money to live on.... you can do that by periodically selling stocks to raise cash (if you do this so your gains are all long-term and keep in the 15% tax bracket then tax free!) and then rebalancing as needed in your tax-deferred accounts.
Between now and when you start SS is also a prime time to do low tax-cost Roth conversions is you are not managing your income for ACA subsidies. Many of us are converting to the top of the 15% tax bracket at a very modest cost of 8-10% vs 25% or more when we deferred the income or 25% or more once SS starts.... and saving 15-17% in the process.
P.S. beachbum, you are way too wrapped up on legs... perhaps you're spending to much time at the beach gawking at the hotties.
