FREE NEWSLETTER
The Quiet Harvest
In the valley years,
Before the checks arrive, low
Is the taxman’s claim.
From the deferred vault,
A sum is lifted, taxed light,
Into the Roth’s arms.
The bill, paid elsewhere —
From taxable, set aside —
So the gift stays whole.
RMDs will come,
Heavy-handed, narrow doors;
But this stands tax-free.
Fill the bracket now,
Watch the IRMAA threshold line,
While the rates are kind.
The harvest, though small,
Will outshine the tax that time
Would otherwise bind.
Pay now or later?
Will tax be lower, higher?
Many hours wasted.
Red chrysanthemum.
Wren considers thistle seed.
Is there time for Roth.
Nursing home then crypt.
Put 8606 to bed
Cool breeze, brisk air, light.
I appreciate the effort, and the theme.
Nice work. I’m a fan of the Roth. I like to call myself Ben Rothriguez.
Some people might bristle at my Roth strategy as my wife and I are in higher earning years. I just have this feeling that I highly doubt I’m going to be upset at my future self for all of the Roth money I’ve squirreled away. Only time will tell.
It’s really a math equation based on future tax rates. What I tell people who.will listen is that there is no one strategy that wins on every single point. It is the trade-offs that we choose. Those trade-offs should make you sleep at night. If they do, then mission accomplished. The problems that stem from having too much in traditional and getting hit with large RMDs and the opposite of putting too much in Roth accounts at higher than optimal tax rates really are 1st world problems and it means you made financially prudent decisions and you are not left to the mercy of your children in order to eat. When we are gone they get what’s left; doesn’t matter becuz we won’t be here. Enjoy life and the results of good decisions.
I agree, Mike. At one extreme are those whose Roth accounts keep them below IRMAA thresholds, at the other are those who could live to 120 and still not recover the taxes paid to convert to Roth. The in-between is where the math gets tricky. At the end of the day, being able to sleep at night is something truly NOT overrated.