Question

I retired in 2021 at age 71 and for 2022 my taxable income includes Social Security and distributions I withdraw from my 403(b)/457(b) pre-tax retirement accounts.

Suppose my RMD for 2022 is $50,000 and I want to withdraw distributions of $70,000 from my 403(b)/457(b) pre-tax retirement accounts and pay taxes on them.

Can I convert the excess $20,000 (i.e. the amount not required for RMD) into a Roth IRA so that I don’t have to pay future taxes on the earnings of that $20,000?

To respond

Required minimum payments cannot be converted to Roth, but the excess, in this case the mentioned $20,000 ($50,000 RMD plus an additional $20,000) could be converted to Roth, says Bob Kargenian, CMT, President of TABR Capital Management, LLC.

“So, yes, you pay taxes on all $70,000 and convert $20,000 into Roths,” he confirms.

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