Pay the tax on your terms. Not the IRS’s.
Every dollar in a traditional IRA or 401(k) still owes tax — the only question is when, and at what rate. We plan Roth conversions as fiduciaries: how much, which years, and how each one moves your Medicare premiums, your Social Security taxes, and what your children inherit.
The checkup is a real conversation with a Houston advisor — not a screening call, not a sales script. You’ll hear which part of your plan needs attention first, and if we’re not the right firm for you, we’ll tell you that on the call.
Why Roth conversion planning matters.
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA: you pay income tax on it now, and qualified withdrawals are tax-free for the rest of your life. Done in the right years, it can lower your lifetime tax bill. Done in the wrong ones, it just moves a tax bill forward and raises your Medicare premiums along the way.
For many Houston retirees, the best window is the stretch between the last paycheck and the first RMD — often the lowest-bracket years of their adult life. After that, Social Security, required distributions, and a surviving spouse’s single-filer brackets tend to push rates up. The window closes whether you use it or not.
A multi-year schedule, not a one-time bet.
“Convert everything” and “never pay tax early” are both expensive rules of thumb. We model your numbers year by year — as fiduciaries, with nothing to sell either way — and coordinate with your CPA.
The Family Wealth CircleTM
One family. Four strategies. One coordinated plan.
Roth conversions live in the Tax quadrant, but they reach into all four. The conversion schedule shapes future Income, changes which accounts hold your Growth, and decides what your family inherits in the Estate quadrant. That’s why we plan it inside the Circle, not as a one-off transaction.
Explore the Family Wealth Circle™ framework →Common Roth conversion questions, answered
If yours isn’t here, ask it on the 15-minute call — we’d rather answer it early than late.
Moving money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. You pay income tax on the amount you convert that year. After that, qualified growth and withdrawals are tax-free, and you’re never required to take distributions from it.
Usually when your tax rate today is lower than it will be later — often the years after you stop working and before Social Security and RMDs begin. It can also help reduce future RMDs, protect a surviving spouse from single-filer brackets, or leave heirs tax-free money. It usually doesn’t make sense if you’d have to pay the tax out of the converted money.
Typically enough to fill your target bracket without crossing into the next one — and without triggering IRMAA or taxing more of your Social Security. The right number changes every year, so we build a multi-year schedule instead of one big conversion.
No. Since 2018, conversions can’t be reversed. Once you convert, the tax is owed for that year — which is why we model the amount before each conversion, not after.
There are two. Each conversion has its own five-year clock for penalty-free access to the converted amount if you’re under 59½. Separately, earnings are tax-free only once the Roth has been open five years and you’re 59½ or older. Most retirees converting after 59½ mainly need to track the second.
It can. Converted amounts count as income, and Medicare sets IRMAA surcharges from your income two years earlier — so a conversion at 63 can raise premiums at 65. We size conversions around those thresholds. See Medicare planning.
No. Your accounts stay exactly where they are while we talk. The conversion analysis is one piece of your broader tax plan, and you decide what happens next on your own timeline.
Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC (“Foundations”), an SEC registered investment adviser. The content provided is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided does not constitute an offer to sell any securities or represent an express or implied opinion or endorsement of any specific investment strategy, opportunity, offering or issuer. Any discussion of specific strategies are for informational purposes only and have been provided to help determine whether they may be appropriate for your situation. Each individual investor’s situation is different, and any ideas provided may not be appropriate for your particular circumstances.
A Roth conversion may not be suitable for your situation. The primary goal in converting tax deferred retirement assets into a Roth IRA is to reduce the future tax liability on the distributions you take in retirement, or on the distributions of your beneficiaries. Any information provided is to help you determine whether or not a Roth IRA conversion may be appropriate for your particular circumstances. Please review your retirement savings, tax, and legacy planning strategies with your legal/tax advisor to be sure a Roth IRA conversion fits into your planning strategies.
Take control of your retirement. Make an Impact!
Fifteen minutes with a fiduciary advisor — including an honest look at whether converting makes sense for you at all.
The checkup is a real conversation with a Houston advisor — not a screening call, not a sales script. You’ll hear which part of your plan needs attention first, and if we’re not the right firm for you, we’ll tell you that on the call.