If what you are saying is accurate, I would think converting to the TOP of the 24% bracket would be prudent and would cut your wife’s tIRA in half or more. For us, marginal rates actually start to go down above ~$200k of income due to taxes on capital gains and dividends. From there, you could be more more strategic with conversions when IRMAA and SS.We spend from Roth all year then do the Roth conversion up to our calculated goal when the market takes a big dip, or at the end of the year.
I guess I have done the projections but didn't really think of it as projecting marginal rates on RMDs.
I am not projecting higher taxes rates in the future. I base my projections on current tax laws, I only adjust when tax laws inevitably change.
My projections say that our marginal rates will never fall below 22% once SS starts even if we never have RMDs.
I am already 65 so 18 years from now when my wife's RMDs start I would be 83 or dead. If I'm 83 RMDs probably push us into 24% and both paying IRMAA, if I'm dead it puts my wife in 32% with IRMAA.
Based on that projection, we currently plan to use the next 4 years to convert her traditional account to Roth. Accounts have a tendency to grow faster than expected making it difficult to convert everything on a schedule. A small additional cost this year to give us a jump start on the Roth conversion seems like it could easily pay for itself by avoiding future IRMAA and possibly keep her out of higher brackets after I die.
if you are interested, I could show you a detailed marginal rate chart with a bit of information on where the income is coming from.
Statistics: Posted by murrays — Tue Sep 30, 2025 4:22 pm — Replies 10 — Views 1096