Category Archives: Roth IRA

Six Stealth Taxes That Can Derail Your Retirement

Published on February 3, 2021

Six stealth taxes can increase your income tax liability and reduce your lifetime after-tax retirement income. Planning for each of them should begin long before and continue throughout retirement.

Keep Your Eye on QBI Before You Rothify

Published on December 7, 2020

A Roth conversion often makes sense but there are times when reduced income tax savings can offset the potential long-term benefits of large conversion amounts..

Should You Do a Roth IRA Conversion After Age 62?

Published on November 23, 2020

Planning the timing of your Roth IRA conversion carefully cannot only reduce taxable inome but manage Mediare premiums.

Contribute Your 2020 RMD to a Roth IRA

Published on April 20, 2020

Although you can rollover, or return, your 2020 IRA and other retirement plan February 1st to May 15th distributions as a result of the 2020 waiver of RMDs, there’s another strategy that you can use to reduce future years’ income tax liability and optimize lifetime after-tax distributions for you and your heirs.

The Roth IRA Conversion Trifecta

Published on March 30, 2020

As a result of a series of three events, there’s an unprecedented opportunity to do a sizable Roth IRA conversion this year.

5 Lifetime Valentine’s Day Gifts for Your Spouse

Published on February 11, 2020

Here are five unique ideas that are designed to benefit you and your spouse over your lifetime. A word of caution: Brush up on your presentation skills since each one will likely be met with dead silence and/or outrage depending upon your spouse.

7 Reasons to Start a Staged Roth IRA Conversion Plan Today

Published on September 17, 2019

One underutilized strategy for optimizing the longevity of assets when planning for retirement is a staged, or multi-year, Roth IRA conversion plan. There are seven reasons to start this type of plan today.

Is Your Widow(er) Included in Your Income Tax Plan?

Published on August 6, 2019

A surviving spouse who has the same, or even less, income will often be subject to higher federal, and potentially, state, income tax liability.

RMDs: Recapture My Deductions – A Questionable Strategy

Published on February 13, 2018

Making deductible retirement plan contributions and “recapture my deductions” beginning when you turn 70-1/2 may not be the best strategy for optimizing after-tax retirement plan distributions.

Strategic Roth IRA Conversions Still Make Sense

Published on March 21, 2017

As my clients and those of you who have read my MarketWatch RetireMentors articles and Retirement Visions blog posts know, I’m a huge fan of Roth IRA conversions. One caveat: they must be timely. There are two types of timely Roth IRA conversions: Strategic Market-sensitive Strategic Roth IRA Conversion The goal of a strategic Roth…

Hedge Against Longevity with a Roth IRA Strategy

Published on June 21, 2016

The title of my most recent MarketWatch RetireMentors article that was published on June 6th is 5 Reasons to Include Sustainable Income in Your Retirement Plan. Reason #1 is hedge against longevity. Although sustainable, or predictable, income from Social Security, pensions, and fixed income annuities provide lifetime income that can build a solid floor for…

Don’t Miss Your Roth IRA Conversion Opportunity

Published on April 5, 2016

If you have a traditional IRA or a traditional 401(k) plan that can be rolled over into a traditional IRA, you’re sitting on a potential gold mine. You might ask yourself how this is possible given the fact that (a) you generally can’t take withdrawals from a traditional IRA before age 59-1/2 without a 10%…

Escape the Roth 401(k) Trap

Published on March 15, 2016

I’m a big fan of 401(k) plans that allow Roth contributions, especially for employees who are in low income tax brackets. You can contribute up to $18,000 of after-tax salary in 2016 to a designated Roth account for 401(k) plans that allow such contributions. The limit is increased to $24,000 if you’re 50 and older.…