Craig Wear, CFP®Craig Wear, CFP® | Expert in Roth Conversions & Tax-Efficient Retirement Strategies for IRA Millionaires

Most people mess up Roth conversions. Either they don’t know it exists or they overconvert.

5 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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Craig Wear, CFP® explains common mistakes people make with Roth conversions and gives high-level guidance to avoid them. He identifies two main errors: (1) not knowing Roth conversions exist (leading to higher future taxes), and (2) over-converting (paying too much tax now). He urges viewers to plan conversions deliberately—deciding how much to convert, over how many years, how charitable donations affect conversion need, and how conversions fit income needs—because a good plan saves taxes and a bad one "burns your wallet."

Chapters

You know, most people really mess up Roth conversions, so you don't need to be one of them. Roth conversion can save you thousands, tens of thousands, and if you're an IRA millionaire, millions of dollars in taxes. But here are the two biggest mistakes that people make. Number one, they don't even know it exists. No conversions equals a lot more taxes later. Or number two, they over convert. Yeah, that they try to save too much now, which really means that they're going to pay more tax up front than if they did nothing at all. Don't just con blindly ask how much should you convert? Over how many years will charitable donations reduce your need to convert? How does it mix with your income needs? And a good plan saves you taxes. A bad one burns your wallet.