At 66 He Converted $100,000 and Spent Every Dollar of It the Next Spring Without a Penalty. The Five-Year Rule Retirees Actually Need to Worry About Is a Different One
Most retirees over 59½ are skipping Roth conversions because of a five-year rule that stopped applying to them years ago, while the five-year rule that actually threatens their money goes completely unnoticed.
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If you are past 59½ and considering a Roth conversion, you may be avoiding it based on a rule that no longer applies. Retirees often refuse to convert, or convert far less than they should, because they believe every converted dollar is frozen for five years. That belief is wrong for most people over the age threshold, and every year you delay burns through a conversion window that will not reopen.
For a 66-year-old who converted $100,000, paid the tax, and spent the entire balance the following spring with no penalty or additional tax, understanding why is the difference between using your Roth window and losing it.
Backstop Rule That Expires With Your Early Withdrawal Penalty
The rule people fear lives in Internal Revenue Code §408A(d)(3)(F). It imposes a 10% early distribution tax on any converted amount withdrawn within five years of conversion, even though the conversion itself was already taxed. It exists to stop someone under 59½ from laundering a would-be penalized traditional IRA withdrawal through a quick conversion.
A rule that exists only to protect another rule has nothing to do once that other rule stops applying. The 10% early distribution tax under §72(t) ends at 59½. So does its backstop. Past that age, converted principal is reachable at any time with no additional tax.
Clock That Never Stops Ticking, Regardless of Your Age
The other five-year rule is different. Under §408A(d)(2), a distribution of Roth earnings is tax-free only if you are past 59½ and five tax years have passed since January 1 of the year of your first contribution or conversion to any Roth IRA. This clock runs once per lifetime and is indifferent to your age. Turning 66 does not satisfy it, and being past 59½ is only one of two requirements for tax-free earnings.
Single Question That Settles Your Case
When did you first put money into any Roth account? If more than five tax years ago, the earnings clock is satisfied. If your first Roth is recent, converted principal is still reachable freely, and growth becomes a separate question. This fact matters far more than most people consider.
Order Money Leaves a Roth, and Why It Almost Always Protects You
Distributions come out in a fixed order under §408A(d)(4): regular contributions first, then converted amounts on a first-converted basis, then earnings last. You have to empty every dollar you ever contributed and every dollar you ever converted before touching a cent of growth. For most retirees, the earnings question is theoretical rather than imminent. The man who spent his $100,000 the following spring never got near his growth layer.
Warnings That Do Not Go Away at 59½
The conversion is fully taxable in the year it happens. Conversions cannot be undone; recharacterization was eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act effective 2018. Permission to withdraw converted money is not a reason to do it, because the entire value of converting is decades of tax-free growth, and pulling it out forfeits exactly what you paid to buy.
Tax withholding deserves close attention. Any amount your custodian holds back for federal or state tax never enters the Roth. If you are under 59½, that withheld portion is an early distribution subject to the 10% penalty. Pay conversion tax from outside funds whenever possible.
Details Worth Getting Right
The five-year conversion clock starts on January 1 of the tax year of the conversion, which shortens it by up to a year versus the conversion date. Each conversion carries its own clock, so a multi-year ladder means tracking several at once. Report every conversion on Form 8606.
Readers under 59½ have exits from the 10% penalty under §72(t): death, disability, substantially equal periodic payments, medical expenses over the AGI threshold, health insurance premiums while unemployed, higher education, first-time home purchase up to $10,000, birth or adoption up to $5,000, and qualified disaster distributions.
If you are past 59½ and your first Roth is old enough, the conversion you have been avoiding costs you tax this year and hands you a permanently accessible account. The five-year worry does not apply, and the low-bracket years between your last paycheck and your first RMD are the cheapest conversion window you will ever see (we sized up that window in a free Roth guide here). The window closes a little every year you wait.
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David Beren has been a Flywheel Publishing contributor since 2022. Writing for 24/7 Wall St. since 2023, David loves to write about topics of all shapes and sizes. As a technology expert, David focuses heavily on consumer electronics brands, automobiles, and general technology. He has previously written for LifeWire, formerly About.com. As a part-time freelance writer, David’s “day job” has been working on and leading social media for multiple Fortune 100 brands. David loves the flexibility of this field and its ability to reach customers exactly where they like to spend their time. Additionally, David previously published his own blog, TmoNews.com, which reached 3 million readers in its first year. In addition to freelance and social media work, David loves to spend time with his family and children and relive the glory days of video game consoles by playing any retro game console he can get his hands on.
