Getting Started with Roth Conversions: Analysis and Planning

The prime window for Roth conversions is between retirement and age 73, when your income is often lower. A CPA can project the long-term tax savings over 10-20 years, helping you understand whether conversions make sense for your specific situation.

Why analysis first is smart: Converting without modeling the tax impact is guessing. The amount you convert gets added to your taxable income for the year, so a poorly sized conversion can push you into a higher bracket, trigger IRMAA surcharges on Medicare, or increase how much of your Social Security is taxed.

The best window: The prime years for Roth conversions are between retirement and when required minimum distributions begin at age 73. During these gap years, your income is often lower, which means you can convert at lower tax brackets. Once RMDs start, they fill up your lower brackets first, leaving less room for conversions.

The long-term payoff: A CPA can project the tax savings over 10 to 20 years. Converted money grows tax-free, has no required distributions, and passes to heirs without income tax. The earlier in retirement you start, the more years of tax-free growth you capture.

The tradeoff: Every year you delay the analysis is a year of low-bracket conversion opportunity lost. The window between retirement and RMDs is finite.