Roth Conversion Question
I’m 68 years old, married (spouse 60) with bulk of retirement in traditional IRA accounts. Pension and interest income $40,000. I want to convert Traditional IRA to Roth IRA to take advantage of IRA tax free appreciation. I can’t convert all at once or this will push income to 37% tax bracket. I must convert before RMDs kick in at 72. When I convert, I pay more for Medicare insurance due to higher income (IRMAA impact). If I convert after I start receiving social security at age 70 there is also a penalty due to higher income. Due to higher income, I also pay more for wife’s health insurance because we lose Obamacare premium tax credit. There are tax advantages to converting sooner rather than later while Trump tax cuts are still in effect. Should I convert to Roth IRA before RMDs kick in? If yes, what is the maximum amount I should convert each year? Do the tax advantages of Roth conversion offset IRMAA, ACA and Social Security impacts?
I have heard two philosophies.
1. Wait to pay taxes at the very last minute and pass RMD tax burden with inheritance.
2. Convert now , pay tax burden, higher income penalties, and pass tax free inheritance.
My wife favors option one because the amount passed down will be greater.
I favor option two because I want to pass tax free assets down to children.
Are there any general rules of thumb?
What should we do?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2020-12-15 19:00
You need to model the taxes due for various conversion amounts, converting any IRMAA surcharges or lost ACA benefits into a tax rate for the varying conversion amounts in each of the coming years. Basically, you should only convert if your marginal rate for the elected conversion amount is lower than, or perhaps equal to your estimated marginal rate due to higher RMDs if you do not convert. With RMDs and SS benefits not too far away, your best opportunity to convert is now, and the benefit declines when your start SS and declines further when your RMD kick in, and still further when wife’s benefits are also being received. Once you complete this analysis, you might want to factor in your beneficiary’s expected marginal rates when they inherit (presumably from the last spouse to pass). The 10 year rule will squeeze their distributions into a shorter time frame and therefore raise their tax rates, but not to the extent they inherit a Roth IRA. There is not much time left for 2020, which is one of the few years left before your other income kicks in, so you would likely benefit by converting a carefully calculated amount before year end.