Should I Do a Roth Conversion Before My Pension Starts?

You retired.

Your paycheck stopped.

But your pension hasn’t started yet.

Maybe you’re 60 and the pension begins at 65.

Maybe you’re 62 and you’re waiting until 67.

Maybe you have a choice about when to turn the pension income on.

Meanwhile, you’re staring at $500,000, $1 million, $2 million, or more sitting inside a traditional IRA or 401(k).

And you’re thinking:

“Should I start converting some of this money before the pension shows up?”

That’s a smart question to model.

Because the years before your pension begins may look completely different from the years after it starts.

But there’s a mistake I don’t want you making.

Don’t assume “before the pension” automatically means “convert as much as possible.”

The pension is only one piece of the math.

Quick Answer: Should You Convert to Roth Before Your Pension Starts?

Possibly.

If your wages have stopped and your pension hasn’t started, you may have a temporary period with less recurring taxable income.

That can make those years worth evaluating for Roth conversions.

But the conversion itself creates taxable income.

And you still need to consider:

• Your current tax situation
• The size of your IRA
• The size of your pension
• When the pension starts
• Social Security
• Future RMDs
• Medicare IRMAA
• Your spouse’s income
• Retirement spending
• How you’ll address the conversion tax
• How much liquidity you need

The years before the pension may be an opportunity. The math tells us how much of an opportunity.

Why Does a Pension Change the Roth Conversion Math?

Because a pension can create recurring income that may continue for the rest of your life.

Imagine you’re 61.

You have:

• $1.3 million in a traditional IRA
• $300,000 in outside savings
• No wages
• A $60,000 annual pension beginning at 65
• Social Security planned later

Right now, the $60,000 pension isn’t on your tax return.

At 65, it may be.

That’s a meaningful change.

The pension can create a permanent income floor that wasn’t there during the years immediately after retirement.

The Window Between Retirement and Your Pension

Suppose you retire at 60.

Your pension starts at 65.

That’s five calendar years worth examining.

You could ask:

“What happens if I convert part of my IRA during those five years?”

That’s much more useful than waiting until 65 and saying:

“I wish I had looked at this before the pension started.”

But we still don’t know the correct conversion amount.

That’s what needs to be modeled.

Example: $1.2 Million IRA and a $50,000 Pension Starting at 65

Imagine you’re 60.

You recently retired.

You have:

• $1.2 million traditional IRA
• $350,000 outside savings and investments
• $50,000 annual pension starting at 65
• Social Security planned at 67
• $80,000 annual retirement spending goal

You now have several potential strategies.

Strategy 1: Do Nothing

Leave the traditional IRA alone.

Use available assets for spending.

Start the pension at 65.

Start Social Security later.

Allow the traditional IRA to remain tax-deferred until distributions are needed or required.

Strategy 2: Smaller Roth Conversions Before the Pension

Convert a smaller amount each year from age 60 through 64.

Then reassess once the pension begins.

Strategy 3: Larger Roth Conversions Before the Pension

Use more of the pre-pension years to reduce the traditional IRA balance before the pension becomes part of your recurring income.

Strategy 4: Continue Conversions After the Pension Starts

Convert before the pension and continue converting after it begins if the updated projected math supports doing so.

Strategy 5: Wait Until Later

Leave the IRA alone during the pre-pension years and evaluate conversions later.

Now we have actual strategies to compare instead of a slogan.

Why the Pension Starting Date Matters

A pension starting next year is different from a pension starting seven years from now.

If your pension begins at 65 and you’re 64, your planning window is short.

If you’re 58, the window is much longer.

That can affect:

• How many conversion years you have
• How large each conversion may need to be
• How much current tax is created
• How much outside cash may be needed
• How much traditional IRA remains when the pension begins

Time changes the conversion strategy.

What If My Pension Is Large?

The size of the pension matters.

A $20,000 annual pension creates a different income picture from an $80,000 pension.

Suppose you’re married and expect:

• $75,000 annual pension
• Social Security for both spouses
• $1.5 million traditional IRA

Now you may eventually have substantial recurring income before taking discretionary IRA withdrawals.

That can make the pre-pension years especially interesting to model.

But it still doesn’t prove that a large conversion is best.

A large future pension makes the pre-pension window more relevant. It doesn’t make the answer automatic.

What If My Pension Is Small?

Then the difference between your pre-pension and post-pension income may be less dramatic.

Maybe the pension is $15,000 per year.

That’s still relevant.

But it may not change the conversion math as much as a $60,000 or $100,000 pension.

This is why I don’t like rules such as:

“Always convert before your pension starts.”

How big is the pension?

How big is the IRA?

How old are you?

When does Social Security start?

What’s your spending?

What does your spouse have?

Without those numbers, we don’t have a strategy. We have a guess.

What If I Can Choose When My Pension Starts?

Now the analysis becomes more interesting.

Some pension plans offer choices about commencement dates.

Starting earlier may provide income sooner.

Starting later may change the monthly benefit.

The exact choices come from the pension plan itself.

The Roth conversion shouldn’t automatically dictate the pension decision.

Instead, model the combined outcome.

For example:

• Earlier pension + smaller Roth conversions
• Earlier pension + no conversion
• Later pension + larger conversions
• Later pension + smaller conversions
• Later pension + no conversion

Don’t delay a valuable pension just to create a prettier Roth conversion window unless the combined retirement math supports it.

Should I Delay My Pension Just to Do Roth Conversions?

Not automatically.

You’re trading one thing for another.

By delaying the pension, you may give up income you could have received.

The future pension benefit may change.

You may need more money from savings or retirement accounts during the delay.

Meanwhile, you may create additional room for Roth conversions.

The question is:

Does the value of the entire strategy improve?

That’s what matters.

Don’t Optimize the Roth Conversion and Accidentally Hurt the Pension Decision

This is one of the themes you’ll see repeatedly in my planning process.

A Roth conversion doesn’t exist by itself.

Neither does a pension.

Neither does Social Security.

Neither does Medicare.

They’re all pieces of the same retirement.

Your pension shouldn’t exist to serve your Roth conversion. Your Roth conversion should not exist to serve your pension. Both should serve your retirement.

What If My Pension Has a Lump-Sum Option?

Some pension plans may offer a lump-sum option instead of, or alongside, lifetime income choices.

That’s a separate major decision.

Don’t choose a lump sum simply because you think:

“Then I can convert it to Roth.”

You need to evaluate the actual pension options.

Questions can include:

• What lifetime income is being surrendered?
• What survivor benefits exist?
• What guarantees exist?
• How important is liquidity?
• What investment risk would you assume?
• What tax rules apply to the rollover?
• How would the decision affect your spouse?

A pension election can be permanent. Don’t turn it into a side effect of a Roth conversion strategy.

How Does Social Security Fit With the Pension?

Now imagine your timeline looks like this:

• Age 60: Retire
• Age 65: Pension starts
• Age 67: Social Security starts
• Later: RMDs begin

Notice what happens.

Your income picture can change multiple times.

Age 60 to 64:

No wages. No pension. No Social Security.

Age 65 to 66:

Pension, but no Social Security.

Age 67 and later:

Pension plus Social Security.

Later:

Pension plus Social Security plus applicable RMDs.

Those are four different retirement-income environments.

Why would you assume the same Roth conversion amount belongs in every one of them?

This Is Why a Multi-Year Roth Conversion Strategy Matters

Maybe the strongest modeled strategy isn’t:

$150,000 every year for five years.

Maybe it’s:

• $200,000 before the pension
• $125,000 the next year
• $175,000 after a market decline
• $75,000 once the pension begins
• No conversion in a year with a large capital gain

I’m not saying those numbers are right.

I’m saying the numbers don’t have to be identical.

Your retirement changes from year to year. Your conversion strategy can change with it.

Should I Fill Up My Tax Bracket Before the Pension Starts?

That’s a useful scenario to test.

But the top of a tax bracket isn’t automatically the correct stopping point.

Maybe entering the next marginal bracket still produces stronger projected long-term math.

Maybe converting less protects liquidity.

Maybe Medicare-related costs matter.

Maybe capital gains matter.

Maybe your spouse is still working.

Maybe your pension begins halfway through the year.

A tax bracket is a modeling target, not a retirement strategy.

What If My Spouse Is Still Working?

Then your household may not have the low-income window you thought you had.

Imagine you retire at 62.

Your pension starts at 65.

But your spouse earns $175,000 per year until age 66.

Your paycheck stopped.

The household paycheck didn’t.

That changes the conversion environment.

At the same time, your spouse’s job may provide:

• Cash flow
• Health insurance
• Retirement contributions
• More outside liquidity

“I’m retired” and “our household has low taxable income” are not the same statement.

What If Both Spouses Have Pensions?

Now you need a household timeline.

Maybe your pension starts at 62.

Your spouse’s starts at 65.

Your Social Security starts at 67.

Your spouse’s Social Security starts at 70.

Both of you have traditional IRAs.

That’s a lot of moving pieces.

But it also gives us multiple strategies to compare.

The household timeline matters more than one account viewed by itself.

What If My Pension Has a Survivor Benefit?

This is critical for married couples.

A pension may offer different survivor-income elections.

One option may provide more income while both spouses are alive.

Another may preserve more income for the surviving spouse.

The actual options come from your pension plan.

Why does this matter for Roth conversions?

Because the surviving spouse’s future income picture may look very different.

Think About the Surviving Spouse Before the Pension Starts

Imagine you’re married.

You have:

• $1.5 million traditional IRA
• $70,000 pension
• Two Social Security benefits

While you’re both alive, the household has multiple income sources.

After one spouse dies, one Social Security benefit may disappear.

The pension may change based on the survivor election.

Filing status can change.

But the traditional IRA can still be substantial.

The Roth conversion you’re considering today may affect the person who eventually has to manage the retirement alone.

The Widow or Widower Tax Problem

This is one of the most uncomfortable parts of retirement planning.

Couples plan together.

Taxes are often filed jointly.

Then one spouse dies.

The survivor may eventually file under a different status while still having significant retirement assets and income.

Expenses don’t necessarily fall in half.

The house still needs maintenance.

Property taxes still show up.

Healthcare still costs money.

A Roth conversion strategy can be partly about reducing future financial pressure on the surviving spouse.

What About RMDs After the Pension Starts?

Your pension doesn’t replace RMD rules for your traditional IRA.

You can eventually have:

Pension income.

Social Security.

And required distributions from traditional retirement accounts.

If your traditional IRA continues growing before RMDs begin, the eventual balance may still be substantial.

Partial Roth conversions before the pension begins can potentially reduce the traditional balance used in future RMD calculations.

But again:

The projected RMD reduction needs to justify the current conversion tax.

What If I Won’t Need My RMDs?

This can make the analysis even more interesting.

Maybe your pension and Social Security already cover your spending.

Then RMDs begin.

Now you’re being required to distribute money from a traditional account even though you didn’t need the distribution for lifestyle expenses.

You may reinvest it in a taxable account.

You may give it away.

You may spend it.

But the distribution still happened.

If your pension will already cover a large part of your retirement lifestyle, the future purpose of your traditional IRA deserves a closer look.

What About Medicare IRMAA?

A taxable Roth conversion increases income.

For Medicare beneficiaries, higher modified adjusted gross income can affect income-related Medicare premium adjustments.

This creates another timing question.

Maybe some conversion years occur before Medicare.

Maybe others occur after Medicare begins.

The analysis needs to account for that timeline.

A conversion can fit inside the tax bracket you targeted and still create another income-related cost.

What If the Pension and Medicare Start at the Same Time?

This happens frequently around age 65.

Now two things can change near the same point:

Your recurring pension income begins.

Medicare becomes part of the planning picture.

That can make the years immediately before 65 look different from the years immediately after.

Again, that’s not proof that you should rush to convert everything before 65.

It’s proof that those years deserve to be compared.

What If the Market Drops Before My Pension Starts?

Now you have another variable.

Suppose you planned to convert $150,000.

Then the investments you’re considering converting fall in value.

A lower current value can change the taxable amount associated with converting those assets.

That may create a scenario worth evaluating.

But your retirement portfolio also lost value.

So don’t look at the conversion in isolation.

A market decline can create a conversion opportunity and a retirement-income concern at the same time.

What If I Have $2 Million in My IRA?

Now doing nothing becomes a scenario that deserves serious modeling too.

Imagine:

• Age 61
• $2 million traditional IRA
• $70,000 pension beginning at 65
• Social Security beginning later
• $400,000 outside savings

If the traditional IRA grows over time, you may eventually have substantial pension income, Social Security income, and RMDs arriving in the same retirement.

Maybe conversions help.

Maybe a large conversion helps.

Maybe smaller annual conversions help.

Maybe the current tax cost is too high.

The size of the IRA makes the question more important. It doesn’t make the answer obvious.

What If I Only Have $500,000?

The analysis still matters.

A $500,000 traditional IRA can be meaningful retirement money.

If you also have a strong pension, the IRA may serve more as:

• A supplemental income source
• An emergency reserve
• A future RMD account
• A legacy asset

That can create a very different conversion strategy than someone relying almost entirely on the IRA for retirement income.

The purpose of the IRA matters as much as the size of the IRA.

What If I Need My IRA to Live On Before the Pension Starts?

Now the conversion and spending strategies collide.

Maybe you’re 61.

Your pension starts at 65.

You need $80,000 per year to live.

You don’t have enough outside savings to cover all four years.

That means part of your IRA may need to fund lifestyle expenses.

At the same time, you’re considering Roth conversions.

You need to know:

How much comes out for spending?

How much is converted?

How much tax does that create?

Where does the tax money come from?

You can’t treat the Roth conversion as if your retirement spending temporarily disappeared.

Your Cash Reserve Matters

Suppose you have $300,000 in cash and taxable investments.

You could use some for:

• Living expenses
• Conversion taxes
• Healthcare
• Home repairs
• Travel
• Emergencies

Every dollar can only be spent once.

If you drain outside savings to maximize the amount converted to Roth, you may improve one projection while making your actual retirement feel less secure.

A retirement strategy that leaves you afraid to spend money isn’t automatically a better retirement strategy.

The Emotional Trap: “I Need to Get This Done Before the Pension Starts”

This is where urgency can become dangerous.

You learn that your pension may change the conversion environment.

Then your brain says:

“I only have three years. We need to move fast.”

Maybe.

But urgency doesn’t tell us the amount.

It doesn’t tell us how to pay the tax.

It doesn’t tell us what happens to Medicare.

It doesn’t tell us whether the conversion improves retirement income.

A closing window is a reason to run the math sooner. It’s not a reason to skip the math.

The Real Fear Isn’t the Pension

The real fear sounds more like this:

“I spent my entire career building this money. I don’t want to make one bad tax decision right before retirement and screw it up.”

You’ve been responsible.

You saved.

You earned the pension.

You built the IRA.

Now the accumulation phase is ending.

And suddenly you’re being asked to make decisions that can affect the next 20 or 30 years.

“What if we mess this up and regret it?”

You don’t want your children cleaning up a financial problem later.

“I don’t want to ask my kids for help.”

You’ve managed your own life for decades.

“We should be able to handle this ourselves.”

That’s why the goal isn’t to hand you another financial opinion.

The goal is to give you enough clarity to make your own decision with confidence.

This Is Where Roth Blueprint Software Changes the Conversation

Let’s say you’re 62.

You have:

• $1.5 million traditional IRA
• $60,000 pension starting at 65
• $300,000 outside savings
• Social Security planned at 67

I could tell you:

“You should convert $150,000 per year until the pension starts.”

But why?

Why $150,000?

Why not $100,000?

Why not $250,000?

Why stop when the pension starts?

Why not continue afterward?

Why start Social Security at 67?

Why use savings to address the conversion tax?

Why convert at all?

Those questions deserve numbers, not opinions.

When You Meet With Me, We Can Assess Thousands of Potential Scenarios

Before you start moving retirement money, we can use our Roth Blueprint software to assess thousands of potential modeled scenarios.

We can compare different:

• Conversion amounts
• Conversion starting years
• Conversion ending years
• Pre-pension conversions
• Post-pension conversions
• Pension starting dates
• Social Security starting ages
• Tax-bracket targets
• Projected conversion taxes
• Traditional IRA balances
• Roth balances
• Projected RMDs
• Potential Medicare IRMAA
• Retirement-income outcomes
• Personal liquidity
• Tax-funding approaches
• Surviving-spouse outcomes
• Legacy outcomes

And one scenario always deserves a seat at the table:

Don’t convert anything.

Doing nothing has math too.

Let’s Make the Pension Strategy Compete Against the Alternatives

Maybe we model:

Scenario A: No Roth conversion.

Scenario B: Convert only before the pension begins.

Scenario C: Convert before and after the pension begins.

Scenario D: Smaller conversions over more years.

Scenario E: Larger conversions during the pre-pension window.

Scenario F: Change the pension starting date if the plan permits it.

Then we compare the projected outcomes.

Let the math do the talking.

What Should We Compare?

Not just taxes this year.

I want to see:

• Current conversion taxes
• Projected future taxes
• Traditional IRA balances
• Roth balances
• Future RMDs
• Pension income
• Social Security
• Medicare considerations
• Retirement income
• Liquidity
• Surviving-spouse outcomes
• Legacy outcomes

A conversion that wins on one tax return can still lose across the retirement.

What About Paying the Roth Conversion Tax?

This remains one of the biggest decisions.

Suppose the Roth conversion strategy looks attractive.

Great.

Now:

Where does the tax money come from?

Option 1: Outside Savings

You may use personal cash or taxable assets.

That can allow more of the selected conversion amount to remain inside the Roth.

But your cash reserve decreases.

If you’re also using that money to bridge the years before your pension starts, this matters.

Option 2: Retirement Assets or Withholding

You may evaluate using retirement assets or withholding as part of the tax-payment strategy.

That can reduce how much of the selected distribution reaches or remains inside the Roth and may create other tax considerations.

Age and transaction structure matter.

Option 3: Contractual Carrier Bonus Value

When suitable, certain annuity contracts may provide contractual carrier bonus value.

That value can be included in the broader economic comparison.

In some modeled strategies, contractual carrier bonus value may economically offset some or potentially all of the conversion-tax cost over the strategy period.

That can potentially reduce the need for additional personal out-of-pocket cash from an overall economic standpoint.

The insurance carrier doesn’t assume your IRS tax liability.

The bonus isn’t an IRS tax credit.

The tax remains the client’s responsibility.

Bonus terms, vesting, surrender provisions, liquidity, product charges, participation rates, crediting methods, income features, guarantees, and other contractual features need to be evaluated.

Don’t Drain Your Bridge Money to Win the Roth Conversion

If your pension doesn’t start for four years, you need to live for four years.

That sounds obvious.

But retirement projections can make people forget it.

If you use too much outside cash to fund conversion taxes, you may create a beautiful Roth balance and an uncomfortable checking account.

Don’t make yourself cash-poor just to become Roth-rich.

The Retirement Math Method™

This is why we use our Retirement Math Method™.

We don’t start with:

“Your pension starts in three years, so convert now.”

We start with:

“What happens if you convert before the pension, after the pension, both, or not at all?”

Then we let those strategies compete.

Our Roth Blueprint software can assess thousands of potential modeled scenarios involving:

• No Roth conversion
• Partial Roth conversions
• Different annual conversion amounts
• Different conversion timelines
• Different pension starting dates
• Different Social Security starting ages
• Different tax-bracket targets
• Projected conversion taxes
• Traditional IRA balances
• Roth balances
• Projected RMDs
• Potential Medicare IRMAA
• Retirement income
• Personal liquidity
• Tax-funding approaches
• Surviving-spouse outcomes
• Legacy outcomes

Then you can see the alternatives side by side.

We don’t sell you a retirement strategy. We run the math and let you decide.

Let the math do the talking.

Frequently Asked Questions About Roth Conversions Before a Pension Starts

Should I do a Roth conversion before my pension starts?

The years before pension income begins can create a different taxable-income environment worth evaluating for Roth conversions. The decision should compare the current conversion tax with projected future taxes, RMDs, pension income, Social Security, Medicare considerations, liquidity, and retirement-income needs.

Does my pension make a Roth conversion more expensive?

Taxable pension income can add to other income on your tax return. That can change the marginal tax environment surrounding a Roth conversion once the pension begins.

Should I convert my whole IRA before the pension begins?

Not automatically. One large conversion can create substantial current taxable income. Partial conversions over several years, conversions after the pension begins, and the no-conversion strategy should also be compared.

Should I delay my pension so I can do more Roth conversions?

The pension decision and Roth conversion decision should be modeled together. Delaying a pension can change the pension benefit and may require additional assets to fund current spending, so the combined retirement outcome matters more than creating conversion room by itself.

What if my pension starts at 65?

If you retire several years before age 65, the years before the pension begins may have a different income profile. Those years can be compared with the years after the pension starts.

Can I continue Roth conversions after my pension starts?

Yes. Starting a pension doesn’t automatically prevent an otherwise eligible Roth conversion. The pension simply becomes another income source that needs to be included in the analysis.

What if my spouse is still working?

Your spouse’s wages can affect household taxable income and the Roth conversion environment. Employment can also provide cash flow, health insurance, and liquidity that affect the broader retirement strategy.

What if both spouses have pensions?

Both pension amounts, starting dates, survivor elections, Social Security benefits, retirement accounts, and future RMDs should be evaluated at the household level.

Can a Roth conversion reduce future RMDs even if I have a pension?

Potentially. Moving eligible assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA reduces the amount remaining in the traditional IRA relative to an otherwise identical no-conversion scenario. A lower future traditional IRA balance can result in lower future RMDs.

Does my pension eliminate the need for RMDs?

No. Pension income doesn’t eliminate applicable RMD requirements for traditional IRAs and other retirement accounts subject to those rules.

Can Roth Blueprint compare my pension and Roth conversion together?

Yes. Our Roth Blueprint process can assess thousands of potential modeled scenarios involving pension starting dates, Roth conversion amounts, conversion timelines, Social Security, projected taxes, RMDs, Medicare considerations, retirement income, liquidity, spouse outcomes, legacy objectives, and the no-conversion alternative.

Your Pension Starting Date Is a Planning Event, Not a Deadline to Panic

If your pension starts in three years, those three years may matter.

Use them.

But use them intelligently.

Maybe the math says convert aggressively before the pension.

Maybe it says use smaller conversions.

Maybe it says keep converting after the pension starts.

Maybe it says preserve your cash.

Maybe it says leave the IRA alone.

A window is valuable because it gives you choices, not because it tells you which choice to make.

Have a Pension Starting Soon? Let’s Run the Math Before It Does.

If you’re approaching retirement or recently retired, have $500,000 or more in tax-deferred retirement assets, and your pension hasn’t started yet, this is exactly the kind of situation I want to model before you start moving money.

When you meet with me, we can use our Roth Blueprint software and Retirement Math Method™ to assess thousands of potential scenarios.

We can compare:

• No Roth conversion
• Conversions before your pension starts
• Conversions after your pension starts
• Conversions both before and after
• Smaller annual conversions
• Larger annual conversions
• Different multi-year conversion schedules
• Different pension starting dates when choices exist
• Different Social Security starting ages
• Different tax-bracket targets
• Projected conversion taxes
• Projected traditional IRA balances
• Projected Roth balances
• Projected RMDs
• Potential Medicare IRMAA
• Retirement income
• Personal liquidity
• Surviving-spouse outcomes
• Legacy outcomes
• Different approaches to addressing the conversion tax

Then we put the strategies side by side.

Maybe the math says use the years before your pension.

Maybe the math says the opportunity continues after the pension starts.

Maybe the math says convert more.

Maybe the math says convert less.

Maybe the math says don’t convert at all.

That’s what I want you to know before you create a tax bill.

I don’t try to sell you on the strategy. I make the strategy prove itself with the math.

Let the math do the talking.

Schedule Your Roth Conversion Strategy Appointment

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Important Disclosure

This article is for educational purposes only and isn’t intended as individualized tax, legal, investment, accounting, insurance, pension, Medicare, Social Security, estate-planning, or retirement-planning advice. Roth conversions generally create taxable income to the extent converted amounts would otherwise be taxable. Pension benefits, commencement options, lump-sum elections, survivor benefits, guarantees, and other pension provisions are controlled by the applicable plan and can vary significantly. Pension elections can be irrevocable, so applicable plan documents and professional guidance should be reviewed before making an election. Taxable pension income and Roth conversion income may affect federal and state income taxes, marginal tax brackets, Medicare premiums, the federal taxation of Social Security benefits, estimated tax requirements, liquidity, beneficiary outcomes, and other parts of a financial plan. Required minimum distributions aren’t eligible for conversion. Roth conversions can potentially reduce future traditional IRA balances and future RMDs relative to an otherwise identical no-conversion scenario, but no specific tax or retirement outcome is guaranteed. Roth Blueprint calculations and other projections are based on assumptions and information entered into the analysis and aren’t guarantees of future tax results, pension income, account values, investment performance, retirement income, Medicare premiums, RMD reductions, surviving-spouse outcomes, legacy results, or product performance. Insurance and annuity products may contain fees, charges, surrender periods, liquidity restrictions, eligibility requirements, bonus provisions, participation rates, caps, spreads, crediting methods, income features, guarantees, and other contractual terms. Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer. A carrier bonus isn’t an IRS tax credit and doesn’t transfer the client’s tax liability to an insurance company. Statements that contractual carrier bonus value may economically offset some or potentially all of a modeled conversion-tax cost aren’t statements that the tax disappears or that the carrier directly pays the client’s tax liability. Before changing a pension election, executing a Roth conversion, changing Social Security timing, purchasing an insurance or annuity product, or making other retirement decisions, consider working with qualified tax, legal, financial, investment, insurance, pension, estate-planning, and other appropriate professionals who can evaluate your individual circumstances.