Can a Roth Conversion Help With Estate Tax Planning?

You have $3 million in traditional retirement accounts.

You have another $10 million in investments, real estate, business interests, and other assets.

Your retirement is secure.

You aren’t worried about running out of money.

Now your question has changed.

You’re thinking less about:

“Will I have enough?”

And more about:

“How much of this actually reaches my family?”

That’s when Roth conversions can start showing up in estate-planning conversations.

But there’s a major misunderstanding we need to clear up immediately.

A Roth conversion does not automatically remove the converted money from your taxable estate.

Roth conversion planning is primarily an income-tax decision.

Estate tax is a different tax system.

For some high-net-worth families, those two systems can interact.

That’s what makes this worth modeling.

Income Tax and Estate Tax Are Not the Same Thing

This is the starting point.

A traditional IRA has one set of income-tax characteristics.

A Roth IRA has another.

Federal estate tax asks a different question.

Broadly speaking, federal estate tax looks at the value of property included in a person’s gross estate at death, subject to applicable deductions, exclusions, credits, and other rules.

So you can’t simply say:

“It’s Roth, therefore it isn’t part of my estate.”

That’s not how the distinction works.

What Is the Federal Estate Tax Exclusion?

Under current federal law, the basic exclusion amount for 2026 is $15 million per individual.

That means federal estate tax isn’t a direct concern for most American households.

It becomes much more relevant for families with larger estates.

And that’s before considering possible state estate or inheritance tax rules, which can be very different from federal law.

Your actual estate-tax exposure should be evaluated with a qualified estate-planning attorney and tax professional.

Why Write About Roth Conversions and Estate Taxes Then?

Because some retirees with large traditional IRAs also have substantial wealth outside those accounts.

Imagine someone with:

• $4 million traditional IRA
• $1 million Roth IRA
• $5 million taxable investment portfolio
• $4 million of real estate
• $3 million business interest
• $2 million of other assets

Now you’re dealing with a very different retirement balance sheet.

The question isn’t simply:

“What tax bracket am I in this year?”

You may also be thinking about:

• Estate taxes
• Income taxes
• Beneficiary taxes
• Trust planning
• Charitable goals
• Family gifts
• Business succession
• Liquidity at death

Does Converting $1 Million to Roth Reduce My Estate by $1 Million?

No.

Suppose you have a $3 million traditional IRA.

You convert $1 million into a Roth IRA.

You now roughly have:

• $2 million traditional IRA
• $1 million Roth IRA

Ignoring taxes, market movements, fees, and other transactions for the moment, you still have approximately $3 million of retirement assets.

You changed their tax character.

You didn’t simply make $1 million disappear from your estate.

Then Where Can the Estate-Planning Effect Come From?

One potential effect comes from paying the conversion tax.

Suppose the Roth conversion creates a substantial federal and state income-tax liability.

You address that liability using cash or taxable assets outside the IRA.

Those tax dollars leave your balance sheet.

So after the transaction, your total assets may be lower than they would have been if you had not voluntarily accelerated the income tax.

That can matter to someone whose estate may otherwise face estate tax.

That Sounds Strange

It does.

You may be thinking:

“You’re telling me paying taxes early can be an estate strategy?”

Potentially, in certain high-net-worth situations.

But don’t confuse that with saying:

“Paying more tax is automatically good.”

It isn’t.

The question is whether voluntarily paying an income tax today changes the amount and tax character of wealth ultimately reaching beneficiaries in a favorable way.

That requires actual math.

Example: Traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA at Death

Suppose two parents each want to leave retirement assets to their children.

One leaves a traditional IRA.

The other leaves a Roth IRA.

The account balances happen to be identical.

Are the inheritances economically identical?

Not necessarily.

Taxable distributions from an inherited traditional IRA can generally create income for the beneficiary.

Qualified distributions from an inherited Roth IRA can generally receive tax-free treatment under applicable federal rules.

Beneficiary distribution requirements can still apply.

Same account balance doesn’t necessarily mean same after-tax inheritance.

This Is Why Account Value Can Be Misleading

Imagine you’re leaving your daughter a $1 million traditional IRA.

And your neighbor is leaving his daughter a $1 million Roth IRA.

Both statements say:

$1,000,000.

But those accounts don’t necessarily have the same future income-tax burden.

That’s one reason high-net-worth families sometimes think about retirement assets in after-tax terms rather than simply comparing statement balances.

But Estate Tax Can Still Apply to Retirement Assets

This is where people mix up the rules.

You may have:

Income-tax-favored Roth treatment

and still have:

Estate-tax inclusion.

Those aren’t contradictory.

They’re different tax systems.

Could a Traditional IRA Face Both Estate and Income Tax Issues?

Potentially.

For a sufficiently large taxable estate, traditional retirement assets can create an especially complicated legacy picture because estate-tax rules and income-tax rules may both be relevant.

Federal tax law contains rules that may allow a beneficiary to claim a deduction associated with federal estate tax attributable to certain income in respect of a decedent.

That can reduce some of the potential double-tax effect.

But this is specialized tax territory.

Don’t calculate it from a retirement account statement.

What Is Income in Respect of a Decedent?

You may hear the abbreviation IRD.

Income in respect of a decedent generally refers to certain income the deceased person was entitled to but that wasn’t properly included in the person’s taxable income before death.

Taxable inherited traditional IRA amounts can fall into this area.

That matters because special rules can apply when both estate tax and subsequent income tax are involved.

Your CPA and estate-planning attorney should evaluate the actual situation.

Does Roth Eliminate All Taxes for My Children?

No.

That’s too broad.

Qualified Roth distributions generally receive favorable federal income-tax treatment when the applicable requirements are met.

But beneficiaries can still face distribution rules.

Estate tax can be a separate issue.

State rules can be different.

Trust taxation can introduce additional complications.

And an inherited Roth isn’t simply a personal checking account with no rules attached.

What If My Estate Is Nowhere Near $15 Million?

Then federal estate tax may not be the reason to do a Roth conversion under current law.

That’s an important distinction.

If your estate is $3 million, $5 million, or $8 million, don’t let someone scare you into a Roth conversion by pretending you automatically have a federal estate-tax problem.

You may have excellent reasons to consider Roth conversions.

Future RMDs.

Surviving-spouse taxes.

Tax diversification.

Beneficiary income taxes.

Retirement income flexibility.

But those are different arguments.

What If My Estate Could Grow Above the Exclusion?

Now the analysis becomes more interesting.

Suppose you’re 60.

Your estate is already worth $11 million.

You own:

• A rapidly growing business
• Substantial real estate
• A $2 million traditional IRA
• A large taxable investment portfolio

You may live another 30 years.

The question isn’t just what the estate is worth today.

You also need to think about future growth, spending, gifts, charitable transfers, business succession, tax law, and other estate-planning decisions.

Could Roth Conversion Taxes Reduce the Estate?

Economically, using personal assets to satisfy the income-tax liability created by a conversion reduces the assets you retain.

For someone with no estate-tax exposure, deliberately reducing assets isn’t automatically useful.

For someone with a taxable estate, the comparison may look different.

But again:

The conversion tax has to buy you something worthwhile.

You don’t intentionally create a $300,000 income-tax bill simply because a smaller estate sounds good.

The Better Question Is What Your Heirs Keep

Suppose Strategy A results in:

A larger gross estate with a larger traditional IRA.

Strategy B results in:

A somewhat smaller gross estate because income taxes were paid during life, but a larger Roth balance.

Which is better?

You can’t answer that by looking only at the estate value.

You need to look at what beneficiaries may actually keep after applicable taxes.

Example: $2 Million Traditional IRA

Suppose you’re 65 with a $2 million traditional IRA.

You don’t need most of the account for retirement spending.

Your estate is already substantial.

Your children are successful professionals in their peak earning years.

Your first instinct may be:

“I’ll leave the IRA alone. More money for the kids.”

Maybe.

But the after-tax question is:

“What will those dollars look like when my children actually receive and distribute them?”

Your Children’s Tax Situation Matters

Suppose your children are physicians, executives, attorneys, business owners, or other high earners.

Inherited taxable retirement distributions could arrive during years when they’re already earning substantial income.

That may affect the value of converting some retirement assets during your lifetime.

But their tax situation can change.

So can yours.

That’s why we model scenarios rather than assume the children’s future tax rate.

What If My Children Are in Lower Tax Brackets?

Then paying a high tax rate today to convert money that beneficiaries might later distribute at lower rates may be less attractive.

That’s a completely legitimate result.

Roth isn’t automatically better because you’re wealthy.

What If I Plan to Leave My IRA to Charity?

Now the analysis can change dramatically.

Qualified charities can have very different tax characteristics from individual beneficiaries.

If a substantial portion of your traditional IRA is ultimately intended for charity, converting those same dollars during your lifetime may not provide the same benefit as converting retirement assets intended for children or other individual beneficiaries.

This is why beneficiary designations belong in the conversion analysis.

Don’t Convert a Dollar Without Asking Who It’s For

Some retirement dollars are for you.

Some are for your spouse.

Some may ultimately be for your children.

Some may be intended for charity.

Those dollars don’t necessarily deserve the same Roth conversion strategy.

What About the Surviving Spouse?

Estate planning isn’t only about the kids.

Suppose you have a $12 million household estate.

You die first.

Your spouse lives another 15 years.

The plan needs to work for that spouse before it works for the children.

That means considering:

• Retirement income
• Taxes
• Liquidity
• Account ownership
• Beneficiary elections
• Estate documents
• Potential estate-tax exposure
• Future growth

Portability Can Matter

Federal estate planning for married couples can involve portability of a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount when applicable requirements are met.

This is legal and tax territory that needs to be coordinated with the estate plan.

Don’t assume that being married automatically solves every future estate-tax issue without the proper filings and planning.

State Estate Taxes Can Be a Completely Different Problem

Federal estate tax isn’t the only consideration.

Some states have their own estate or inheritance tax systems.

The thresholds and rules may be very different from federal law.

Your residence, property ownership, beneficiaries, and future moves can matter.

A household below the federal estate-tax threshold can still have a state-level estate-planning issue.

What If I Plan to Move?

Suppose you’re considering retiring in another state.

Now your Roth conversion strategy may need to consider:

• Income taxes before and after the move
• Estate or inheritance tax rules
• Property ownership
• Residency
• Timing

A conversion completed before a move can have a different state-tax result from one completed afterward.

Coordinate the retirement plan with your tax and estate professionals.

What About Gifting Money During My Lifetime?

High-net-worth families often consider lifetime gifting as part of estate planning.

That’s a different strategy from a Roth conversion.

Gifting can potentially move assets out of an estate when properly structured, while a Roth conversion generally changes the income-tax character of assets you still own.

Don’t confuse the two.

Roth Conversion Is Not an Estate Freeze

If your Roth IRA grows from $1 million to $2 million while you still own it, that growth didn’t somehow occur outside your estate merely because the account is Roth.

This is why a Roth conversion shouldn’t be marketed as a magic estate-tax reduction strategy.

It isn’t.

Then Why Might a Wealthy Family Still Convert?

Because estate planning isn’t just about federal estate tax.

The family may care about:

• Beneficiary income taxes
• Future RMDs
• Tax diversification
• Surviving-spouse taxes
• Liquidity
• Retirement income
• Charitable planning
• How different assets pass to different beneficiaries

Roth conversions can affect several of those areas even if they don’t remove the Roth account from the estate.

The Gross Estate Isn’t the Only Number That Matters

Imagine two estates.

Estate A is worth $12 million.

Estate B is worth $11.5 million.

Does that automatically mean Estate A leaves the family more money?

No.

You need to understand:

What assets make up each estate?

Which assets carry future income-tax liabilities?

Which beneficiaries receive which assets?

What taxes apply?

What expenses apply?

What happens after death?

Gross wealth and after-tax family wealth are not always the same thing.

What About Basis Step-Up?

Taxable assets can receive different basis treatment at death under current federal rules than traditional retirement assets.

This can create an important planning conflict.

Suppose you have appreciated taxable investments and a traditional IRA.

Which assets should you spend?

Which assets should you convert?

Which assets should you hold?

Which assets should go to charity?

Which assets should go to children?

These decisions can affect the overall tax result.

Don’t Look at the IRA Alone

This is especially important for wealthy retirees.

You may have:

• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• 401(k)
• Taxable brokerage account
• Real estate
• Business interests
• Life insurance
• Annuities
• Trust assets
• Cash

A Roth conversion affects one part of a much larger estate.

The strategy needs to respect the rest of the balance sheet.

“I’ve Already Paid Enough Taxes”

This is where the emotional resistance shows up.

You’ve paid taxes for 40 years.

Now someone suggests voluntarily creating a large taxable Roth conversion.

You think:

“Why would I pay the IRS early?”

Fair question.

You shouldn’t pay tax early just because Roth sounds good.

You should compare the tax you voluntarily pay today with the potential taxes and outcomes created by leaving the money where it is.

“My Kids Can Deal With the Taxes Later”

You may think:

“They’ll be inheriting millions. They can pay the taxes.”

You can absolutely make that choice.

But make it knowingly.

Maybe leaving the traditional IRA intact produces the stronger result.

Maybe converting part of it produces a stronger after-tax inheritance.

Maybe charitable planning changes everything.

Run it.

“We Should Be Able to Handle This Ourselves”

You built the wealth.

You managed the business.

You bought the properties.

You made the investment decisions.

You think:

“We should be able to handle this ourselves.”

Then you start dealing with:

Income tax.

Estate tax.

IRD.

Trusts.

Beneficiary rules.

State taxes.

Portability.

Roth conversions.

Charitable beneficiaries.

Now you’re coordinating multiple tax systems and multiple generations.

This is exactly where your retirement strategist, CPA, and estate-planning attorney should be talking to each other.

“I Don’t Want to Ask My Kids for Help”

Even wealthy retirees can feel this.

You think:

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

Not necessarily financially.

You don’t want them fixing the estate plan after you’re gone.

You don’t want your spouse calling the children because nobody understands the accounts.

You don’t want your kids sitting around a kitchen table trying to figure out what you intended.

Independence can mean leaving a plan, not just leaving money.

“What If We Mess This Up and Regret It?”

This fear gets bigger as the numbers get bigger.

You think:

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

What if you convert too much?

What if tax rates change?

What if you pay a huge tax bill today that your children wouldn’t have paid later?

What if you don’t convert and later wish you had?

What if estate law changes?

You cannot remove legislative uncertainty.

But you can see what the strategies look like under multiple assumptions before choosing one.

The Identity Conflict: Preserve the Fortune vs. Enjoy the Fortune

There’s another conflict high-net-worth retirees don’t always say out loud.

You spent decades building wealth.

Now you feel responsible for protecting it.

But it’s also your retirement.

You want to travel.

Help the grandchildren.

Buy the second home.

Give to charity.

Enjoy what you built.

The estate plan shouldn’t make you feel like you’re merely the caretaker of your children’s future inheritance.

The retirement plan has to work for you first.

How Can Roth Conversion Taxes Be Addressed?

Option 1: Existing Cash

High-net-worth households may have outside liquidity available to address conversion taxes.

Using cash changes the composition and value of the assets remaining in the estate, so that should be included in the analysis.

Option 2: Taxable Investments

Taxable investments can provide liquidity, but selling appreciated assets may create capital gains.

Those assets may also have different potential estate and basis characteristics than retirement accounts.

Don’t automatically sell highly appreciated assets simply because cash is needed for a conversion tax.

Option 3: Retirement Assets or Withholding

Another approach may involve retirement assets or withholding.

This can reduce the amount ultimately reaching or remaining inside Roth and may create additional tax considerations.

For higher-net-worth households, the source of the tax payment can materially change the estate analysis.

Option 4: Contractual Carrier Bonus Value

When suitable, certain annuity contracts may provide contractual carrier bonus value that can be included in the broader economic comparison.

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

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

The carrier doesn’t assume your IRS tax liability.

A carrier bonus isn’t an IRS tax credit.

Your tax remains your responsibility.

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

This Is Where Roth Blueprint Software Comes In

I don’t want to tell a wealthy retiree:

“Convert because Roth is better for your kids.”

That’s nowhere near enough analysis.

Using our Roth Blueprint software, we can assess thousands of potential modeled Roth conversion scenarios around the retirement picture.

For families with estate-tax exposure, those results should then be coordinated with the family’s CPA and estate-planning attorney.

What Can We Compare?

We can assess different:

• Roth conversion amounts
• Conversion years
• Multi-year conversions
• Variable annual conversions
• No conversion
• Traditional retirement-account balances
• Roth balances
• Taxable investment balances
• Cash reserves
• Projected conversion taxes
• Different approaches to addressing conversion taxes
• Retirement spending
• Social Security timing
• Pension income
• Potential Medicare considerations
• Projected RMDs
• Surviving-spouse outcomes
• Beneficiary outcomes
• Legacy outcomes

Federal and state estate-tax calculations, trusts, gifting, portability, charitable estate planning, business succession, and legal-document design should be handled with qualified tax and legal professionals.

Example: Make the Strategies Compete

Suppose you’re 65 and married.

You have:

• $3 million traditional retirement accounts
• $1 million Roth accounts
• $6 million taxable investments
• $4 million real estate
• $2 million business interests
• $1 million cash and other assets

You’re clearly not solving the same Roth conversion problem as someone with a $600,000 IRA and little outside wealth.

We could compare:

Scenario A: No Roth conversions.

Scenario B: Smaller annual conversions designed primarily around retirement-income tax planning.

Scenario C: Larger multi-year conversions while using outside liquidity for the resulting taxes.

Scenario D: Different conversion amounts based on surviving-spouse and beneficiary outcomes.

Scenario E: Coordinate selected conversion scenarios with the estate attorney’s gifting, trust, charitable, and estate-tax plan.

Then look at more than the IRA balance.

The Retirement Math Method™

This is why we use our Retirement Math Method™.

I don’t start with:

“Roth reduces estate taxes.”

That’s too broad and can be wrong.

I don’t start with:

“You’re wealthy, so convert everything.”

That’s not analysis either.

Instead, we make the strategies compete.

Maybe leaving the traditional IRA intact wins.

Maybe partial conversions win.

Maybe the children’s projected tax situation makes conversions more attractive.

Maybe charitable goals make certain conversions less attractive.

Maybe surviving-spouse planning changes the answer.

Maybe outside liquidity changes it.

Maybe estate-tax exposure changes it again.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions About Roth Conversions and Estate Taxes

Does a Roth conversion remove money from my taxable estate?

Generally, no. A Roth conversion changes the income-tax character of selected retirement assets but doesn’t by itself remove the converted assets from the owner’s estate.

Are Roth IRAs exempt from federal estate tax?

Don’t confuse Roth income-tax treatment with estate-tax treatment. Retirement assets can potentially be included in the owner’s gross estate even though qualified Roth distributions may receive tax-free federal income-tax treatment.

Can paying Roth conversion taxes reduce my estate?

Using outside assets to address the income tax created by a Roth conversion can reduce the assets remaining on your personal balance sheet. Whether that creates an overall estate-planning advantage requires a broader analysis of taxes, estate size, investment growth, beneficiaries, and applicable law.

What is the federal estate-tax exclusion in 2026?

Under current federal law, the basic exclusion amount for 2026 is $15 million per individual. Estate-tax laws can change, and state estate or inheritance tax rules may use different thresholds and structures.

Do my children pay income tax on an inherited traditional IRA?

Taxable distributions from an inherited traditional IRA generally can be included in the beneficiary’s gross income. Specific beneficiary and distribution rules depend on the circumstances.

Are inherited Roth IRA distributions tax-free?

Qualified Roth distributions generally receive tax-free federal income-tax treatment when applicable requirements are satisfied. Beneficiary distribution rules still apply, and special rules can affect nonqualified distributions.

Can an inherited traditional IRA face both estate tax and income tax?

For estates subject to federal estate tax, taxable traditional retirement assets can create both estate-tax and subsequent income-tax considerations. Federal rules may allow a beneficiary a deduction for estate tax attributable to certain income in respect of a decedent. This calculation should be handled by a qualified tax professional.

Should I convert my IRA if my estate is below the federal estate-tax exclusion?

Estate tax alone may not be the reason. Roth conversions can still be evaluated for future RMDs, tax diversification, surviving-spouse planning, beneficiary income taxes, retirement income, and other goals.

Should I convert my IRA if I’m leaving it to charity?

Not automatically. Charitable beneficiaries can have different tax characteristics from individual beneficiaries. If retirement assets are intended for charity, coordinate the Roth conversion analysis with the charitable and estate plan.

Can Roth Blueprint calculate my estate tax?

Federal and state estate-tax liability, trusts, gifting, portability, charitable estate planning, and other legal estate-planning issues should be evaluated by qualified tax and legal professionals. Roth Blueprint can help compare modeled Roth conversion scenarios, retirement-account balances, projected taxes, RMDs, surviving-spouse outcomes, and beneficiary outcomes that can then be coordinated with those professionals.

Don’t Ask Only How Much Your Estate Is Worth

Ask:

“What does my family actually receive?”

That is a much better question.

A $2 million traditional IRA isn’t automatically economically identical to a $2 million Roth IRA.

A $15 million estate made up mostly of tax-deferred retirement assets isn’t necessarily identical to a $15 million estate with a different asset mix.

And paying income tax during life doesn’t automatically make a Roth conversion smart.

You need to compare the entire chain of taxes and outcomes, not one account balance.

Have $500,000+ in Tax-Deferred Assets and a Significant Estate? Let’s Run the Math.

If you have $500,000, $1 million, $2 million, $3 million, or more in traditional retirement accounts and your broader estate includes substantial taxable investments, real estate, business interests, or other assets, Roth conversion planning may need to extend beyond your own retirement tax bracket.

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

We can compare:

• No Roth conversion
• Smaller annual conversions
• Larger annual conversions
• Multi-year conversions
• Variable annual conversions
• Traditional retirement-account balances
• Roth balances
• Taxable investment balances
• Cash reserves
• Projected conversion taxes
• Different approaches to addressing conversion taxes
• Retirement income
• Projected RMDs
• Surviving-spouse outcomes
• Beneficiary outcomes
• Legacy outcomes

Then your CPA and estate-planning attorney can evaluate those modeled retirement outcomes alongside federal and state estate-tax rules, trusts, gifting, charitable planning, business succession, portability, and your actual estate documents.

Maybe no conversion wins.

Maybe partial conversions produce a stronger after-tax family outcome.

Maybe your children’s future tax exposure changes the answer.

Maybe charitable planning changes which dollars should be converted.

Maybe estate-tax exposure changes the economics again.

Don’t guess based on the size of the IRA.

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

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, accounting, investment, securities, estate-planning, insurance, charitable-planning, business-succession, Medicare, Social Security, or retirement-planning advice. FPP Financial does not provide tax or legal advice. Federal estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer, income, trust, beneficiary, and retirement-account rules are complex and can change. State estate, inheritance, income, and other tax rules vary by jurisdiction. The federal basic exclusion amount discussed in this article reflects current 2026 federal law and shouldn’t be assumed to remain unchanged in future years. A Roth conversion generally changes the income-tax character of selected retirement assets and doesn’t by itself remove those assets from the owner’s gross estate. Roth conversions generally create taxable income to the extent converted amounts would otherwise be taxable. Qualified Roth IRA distributions are generally tax-free under current federal rules when applicable requirements are satisfied. Traditional IRA distributions received by beneficiaries can be taxable. Beneficiary distribution requirements can apply to inherited traditional and Roth retirement accounts. In estates subject to federal estate tax, specialized rules concerning income in respect of a decedent and potential deductions for estate tax attributable to certain IRD amounts may apply. These calculations should be performed by qualified tax professionals. Taxable Roth conversion income, retirement distributions, capital gains, investment income, pensions, Social Security benefits, gifts, charitable transfers, trust distributions, and other income or transactions can affect federal and state income taxes, estate and gift taxes, marginal tax rates, Medicare premiums, estimated tax requirements, Net Investment Income Tax calculations in applicable circumstances, liquidity, and other parts of a financial and estate plan. Required minimum distribution rules vary based on birth year, account type, beneficiary status, and current law, and required distribution amounts aren’t eligible for Roth conversion. Roth conversions can potentially reduce future traditional retirement-account balances and future RMDs relative to an otherwise identical no-conversion scenario, but no specific income-tax, estate-tax, gift-tax, investment, Medicare, Social Security, RMD, retirement-income, liquidity, surviving-spouse, beneficiary, or legacy 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 law, tax rates, estate-tax exposure, account values, investment performance, retirement income, Medicare premiums, Social Security outcomes, RMD reductions, surviving-spouse outcomes, beneficiary outcomes, legacy results, liquidity, 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 completing a Roth conversion, changing beneficiary designations, creating or modifying trusts, making lifetime gifts, transferring business interests, changing an estate plan, making charitable transfers, making estimated tax payments, purchasing an insurance or annuity product, or making other retirement or estate-planning decisions, consider working with qualified tax, legal, accounting, financial, investment, securities, insurance, estate-planning, charitable-planning, business-succession, Medicare, Social Security, and other appropriate professionals who can evaluate your individual circumstances and current rules.