The Retirement and IRA Show Social Security and Roth Conversion Strategies: Q&A #2545
Nov 8, 2025
Listeners dive into maximizing Social Security survivor benefits, particularly for widows with unclaimed spouse benefits. The duo also tackles whether couples should pursue Roth conversions and how much they should convert. Strategies for timing conversions before RMDs and the implications of IRMAA on tax planning are explored. Insights on whether to stop contributing to Roth accounts to cover conversion taxes are discussed, along with the impact of the Net Investment Income Tax. Overall, it's a practical guide for navigating retirement finances.
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Use Low-Income Years To Convert To Roth
- Use low-income years before big income sources start to do Roth conversions up to your target tax bracket.
- Consider converting large amounts this year while Social Security and annuity income remain low to reduce future RMD pressure.
Project RMDs To Gauge IRMA Risk
- Model projected RMDs and add them to expected Social Security and annuity income to estimate future AGI and IRMA risk.
- Convert now if projections show RMDs pushing you into higher IRMA tiers later.
Tax Brackets Versus IRMA Use Different Incomes
- Tax brackets use taxable income after deductions, while IRMA uses modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) before deductions.
- That mismatch means you can appear safely in a low bracket yet still trigger Medicare surcharges.