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

Waiting to convert costs you more than taxes.

24 Oct 2025 · 1 min

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A short YouTube commentary by Craig Wear, CFP® warning that delaying Roth IRA conversions can be costly beyond immediate taxes. He gives three reasons: (1) waiting reduces available low-tax years for efficient conversion before RMDs begin, (2) RMDs are taxable and can increase the taxable portion of Social Security and raise Medicare premiums, and (3) after RMDs start, conversions do not count toward required distributions which can create tax inefficiencies. He recommends exploring Roth conversions sooner to retain control over retirement tax outcomes.

Chapters

Waiting to convert to a Roth could cost you big. Reason 1 if you wait until RMDs or requirement of distributions kick in, you're going to have fewer low tax years to convert efficiently. Reason number two those RMDs are taxable income and they could make up to 85% of your Social Security taxable too, and cause higher premiums for your Medicare. Reason number three Once the RMD start conversions don't count toward meeting those required distribution, so you could be taxed twice in the same year. Roth conversions aren't for everyone, but the sooner you explore them, the more control you're going to have over your tax bill later into retirement.