Multi-year tax model
We project your taxable income over the conversion years and identify the bracket fills that will produce the biggest lifetime tax savings.
Roth conversion strategy modeled year by year so the bracket math works. The window between when work income stops and when RMDs begin is often the largest tax opportunity of your life.
We project your taxable income over the conversion years and identify the bracket fills that will produce the biggest lifetime tax savings.
If you stop working before 59 1/2, a conversion ladder gives you penalty-free access to the converted principal after five years. We map the ladder schedule.
Paying the conversion tax from taxable assets, not from the IRA itself, dramatically improves the math. We coordinate the source of funds.
If you've limited cash to pay the tax, expect lower retirement income than you've now, or face state-tax issues from moving, the conversion may not pencil out. We tell you.
We meet on a real cadence, usually quarterly. The plan flexes as your life and the tax code change. Most relationships span decades.
Offices in Boca Raton and Plantation, plus licensed in all 50 states. Existing clients keep us when they move.
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. You pay income tax in the year of the conversion. In exchange, the converted amount grows tax-free for the rest of your life and your beneficiaries' lives, and it never has to come out as a required minimum distribution.
The case for converting comes down to whether you expect to be in a lower tax bracket now than you (or your beneficiaries) will be later. For pre-retirees in the low-tax window between when employment income stops and when Social Security and RMDs begin, the answer is often yes by a wide margin.
The window is usually shorter than you think. For most pre-retirees, the prime Roth conversion years are between retirement and the start of Social Security or RMDs. That can be as little as 3 years if you retire close to RMD age, or as much as 15 if you retire in your early 50s. The earlier we start the modeling, the more flexibility we have.
Roth conversion planning is rarely a standalone decision. It connects to:
The broader tax strategy. Year-round positioning, capital gains, charitable giving.
See tax planning →The income years are where conversions happen. Withdrawal sequencing, RMDs, Social Security timing all matter.
See retirement planning →What gets converted (the actual securities) and how the Roth grows post-conversion.
See investment management →The clients who benefit most from Roth conversion planning:
"We did $80K in conversions over two years during a low-income transition. The RMD reduction alone makes it worth it for the rest of our lives."
"Beth modeled the bracket math for me on a whiteboard. I had been doing my own conversions for years but never with this kind of multi-year view. It changed how aggressive I was willing to be."
"The conversion ladder we set up gave us access to retirement money before age 59 1/2 without penalties. I wouldn't have known to structure it that way."
Posts our wealth advisors have put together on this topic.
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or similar pretax retirement account into a Roth IRA. The amount converted is treated as ordinary income in the year of the conversion. In exchange, the money grows tax-free, comes out tax-free in retirement, has no required minimum distribution at age 73, and passes to your beneficiaries tax-free.
The strongest window is usually after you stop earning W-2 income and before Social Security or RMDs begin. That gives you years where your taxable income is low and your withdrawal rate is mostly flexible. Inside that window, you fill up the lower tax brackets each year with conversions. Outside that window, conversions can still make sense, but the math is closer to neutral.
A Roth conversion ladder is a multi-year sequence of conversions designed to give you penalty-free access to retirement assets before age 59 1/2. Each conversion has its own 5-year seasoning period after which the converted principal can be withdrawn without penalty. By converting annually for several years in a row, you create a steady stream of accessible funds. Used by early retirees who need pre-59 1/2 income.
Technically no, and usually you should not. Paying the conversion tax from taxable (non-retirement) assets means the full amount gets to grow tax-free inside the Roth. Paying the tax from the conversion itself reduces what makes it into the Roth and dilutes the long-term benefit. We coordinate the tax cash flow so this works.
IRMAA is the income-related monthly adjustment amount for Medicare Parts B and D. If your modified adjusted gross income crosses certain thresholds, your Medicare premiums increase, sometimes meaningfully. Roth conversions count toward IRMAA in the year of the conversion. We model the IRMAA hit alongside the lifetime tax savings and decide whether it's worth crossing the threshold.
The first meeting is a conversation, not a sales pitch. We'll talk about where you are, what you're working through, and whether Intercoastal is the right fit. In person in Boca Raton or Plantation, or by video from anywhere.