Fidelity Portfolio Advisory Service

[TrvlBug]

Nothing you're probably not aware of.

I mentioned that I was concerned about the tax implications of big RMDs combined with taking SS benefits at 70. Obviously, I'm gradually converting TIRA money to Roth until then, but it still looks like a tax hit.

My friendly FIDO rep suggested moving the fixed income percentage of the total portfolio more heavily into the TIRA, which should help it to not grow as quickly. Obviously, that's more tax efficient now as well, but I hadn't considered the growth aspect. Pretty basic stuff.

I just met w/my FIDO rep today to discuss among other things, the 2 year window we have to convert to ROTH when DH retires this time next year. Did some number crunching which confirmed that we should convert as much as possible as we'll be in the 28% bracket once all SS and RMDs kick in.

She did suggest one other thing we hadn't considered. To have our CPA run the numbers for the next 2 years (as we do our taxes) and also include maximizing charitable giving as we calculate how much to convert before we hit the top of 28%. She will rerun the numbers once she gets that info from the CPA. We are in the (unfortunate?) situation of having 2/3 of our assets in tax advantaged accounts and really need to reduce those as much as possible before RMDs kick in. She ran the RIP both with and without the Roth conversions and the numbers were telling...at minimum with markets doing poorly, we'll be ahead $1M with the conversion and if the markets do well $3M+.

She good me thinks.