The questions you are asking are very important ones, and they are best answered not in isolation, but in the context of an overall plan as you move, in 2026, into a new phase in your financial life. Key parameters of this new phase are:
1. Big drop in earned income due to your retirement
2. Approx 10 year window before one or both start SS
3. Approx 13 year window for you and approx 14 year window for spouse until RMDs start.
A huge issue you face is whether to do Roth conversions before RMDs start. That question depends on a number of factors, starting with the balances in your tax deferred accounts. If it makes sense to do Roth conversions, it probably also makes sense for wife to switch from contributing to a tax deferred 403b to a Roth 403b.
A related issue on Roth conversions is how to pay the tax liability those conversions will trigger . The optimal strategy, if you can afford it, is usually to pay the taxes on the conversion from your taxable account, which would include selling appreciated shares, even though that potentially means having to pay long term capital gains tax at 15% federal plus state. (If you do a Roth conversion, you may wind up in the 15% LTCG bracket instead of the 0%.)
Having recently gone through a similar planning analysis myself, and given that there are 100s of “should I do Roth conversions” threads in this forum, I strongly recommend that you spend $120 for the Pralana retirement planning software so that you can approach these and other issues you should be considering systematically.
1. Big drop in earned income due to your retirement
2. Approx 10 year window before one or both start SS
3. Approx 13 year window for you and approx 14 year window for spouse until RMDs start.
A huge issue you face is whether to do Roth conversions before RMDs start. That question depends on a number of factors, starting with the balances in your tax deferred accounts. If it makes sense to do Roth conversions, it probably also makes sense for wife to switch from contributing to a tax deferred 403b to a Roth 403b.
A related issue on Roth conversions is how to pay the tax liability those conversions will trigger . The optimal strategy, if you can afford it, is usually to pay the taxes on the conversion from your taxable account, which would include selling appreciated shares, even though that potentially means having to pay long term capital gains tax at 15% federal plus state. (If you do a Roth conversion, you may wind up in the 15% LTCG bracket instead of the 0%.)
Having recently gone through a similar planning analysis myself, and given that there are 100s of “should I do Roth conversions” threads in this forum, I strongly recommend that you spend $120 for the Pralana retirement planning software so that you can approach these and other issues you should be considering systematically.
Statistics: Posted by Pdxcess — Sat Dec 06, 2025 3:06 am — Replies 1 — Views 226