Should I Convert to a Roth IRA

As mentioned elsewhere on the site, Glenn Daily is one of the top fee-based financial planners in the country.

He is also very generous with his time/thoughts and he publishes frequently.

Glenn published an outstanding piece that discusses and analyzes the decision about whether to convert to a Roth IRA.

The paper is highly recommended for financial advisors and the general public--it can be viewed by clicking here.

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Some excellent information on whether to convert from a traditional to a Roth IRA from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College:

http://crr.bc.edu/briefs/should_you_convert_a_traditional_ira_into_a_rot...

The gist of the findings are that people will find a Roth IRA conversion attractive if they:

- expect their tax rates to rise in retirement;

- prefer more flexible withdrawal options; and/or

- wish to increase their tax-sheltered assets.

Are rising federal tax rates really a question at this point?

I should think that the state tax rate that you are in now vs the state tax that you plan on living in during retirement would be a more valid concern.

Not sure I am following the argument.

Federal tax rates already have (and will likely continue to) increased in a meaningful way as a result of federal health reform.

This increase includes taxes on "unearned" income and a pending increase in capital gains rates.

Why do you believe the state-level issues are more pressing?