New tax rules allow more people to convert to a Roth IRA
By David Pitt, AP Personal Finance Writer
In retirement, your paycheck might go away, but taxes won't. Still your tax bill can be hard to predict. To have some control over how much you pay the government each year, you should have both taxable and non-taxable accounts from which to draw your retirement income. Imagine it this way. Perhaps early in retirement you choose to continue to work part time and supplement your income from retirement savings accounts. The combined income may put you into a higher tax bracket. However, if you take some money from a Roth IRA that year, because withdrawals are nontaxable, it could help keep you in the lower bracket.
In later years if you're not working and hitting the next highest tax bracket isn't an issue, you can pull more money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) account. This type of tax diversification is one of the primary reasons people choose to put some of their money in a Roth IRA, or convert to such an account. "It affords you the flexibility when the time comes to make a withdrawal from an account that lines up best with your current taxes," said Chris McDermott, a senior vice president at Fidelity Investments.
Thanks to a new rule that goes into effect in January, more people can convert assets from a traditional IRA or a 401(k) account, at a former employer, into a Roth IRA. As of Jan. 1, people making more than $100,000 may convert to a Roth IRA. Previously, only people who earned less than $100,000 could convert. - complete article
