Roth conversions
Last updated November 3, 2026
Converting traditional money to Roth means paying tax now to avoid it later. The tool ranks several conversion strategies against your plan.
The opening usually comes in the years after you retire and before Social Security or required distributions start. With no salary and none of that income yet, your taxable income is the lowest it will ever be. Filling the lower brackets on purpose in those years can cost less than having required distributions force the money out later at a higher rate.
Required distributions are the deadline. Once they start, the traditional balance comes out whether you want it or not. A large balance can push you into a higher bracket, and raise your Medicare premiums with it.
Before 65, a conversion also counts as income for marketplace health insurance. Premium help stops completely above 400% of the federal poverty line. That's $63,840 for one person and $86,560 for a couple in 2027. One strategy converts only up to that line. Every strategy pays the higher premium in any year it goes past it.
Trust this ranking less than the others. It depends on what tax brackets look like decades from now, and we run the whole plan on today's brackets. A conversion that ranks first under current law may not rank first under a different one. That's why we label this one medium confidence, not high, where it appears on your dashboard.
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