Convert $40,000 a Year From 62 to 72 and the Roth Holds About $570,000 at 73, With No Required Withdrawal on Any of It, Ever

Nearly every dollar in an American retirement account comes with an attached withdrawal schedule. Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s require you to start taking money out at a set age, and the IRS sets the minimum each year. A Roth IRA is one of the few accounts that can sit untouched for your entire life. IRS Publication 590-B says it plainly: “You aren’t required to take distributions from your Roth IRA at any age.”

A conversion transfers pre-tax funds to a Roth, and the owner pays income tax on it in that year. In one example scenario, a retiree converts $40,000 a year from age 62 through 72. Under that scenario, the Roth holds about $570,000 at 73. The decision to convert is already made, taken during the low-tax years between the final paycheck and the first required withdrawal (we sized up that window in a free Roth guide here). What follows covers what that balance does for the rest of the owner’s life and after it.

One Account Runs on a Government Schedule

The IRS requires an owner to take at least a certain amount from a traditional account each year: a required minimum distribution, or RMD. The SECURE 2.0 Act, signed in December 2022, raised the starting age to 73. It also removed RMDs for designated Roth accounts, meaning the Roth side of a 401(k) or 403(b), starting January 1, 2024. Many savers still think a Roth 401(k) forces withdrawals. That rule ended when the change took effect.

Picking a Taxable Income Every Year

Qualified Roth withdrawals don’t count as taxable income, so a retiree with a large Roth can largely determine their annual income. Medicare pays close attention to that number. In 2026, Part B costs $202.90 a month for individual taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income up to $109,000, or joint taxpayers up to $218,000.

For anything above that line, the first surcharge tier raises the premium to $284.10. That surcharge is called IRMAA, short for income-related monthly adjustment amount. Social Security sets it using the most recent federal tax return the IRS provides, so a high-income year shows up in premiums after a delay. Each beneficiary is assessed separately, so a married couple who are both on Medicare can each owe it.

Social Security benefits work the same way. They become taxable once combined income, which SSA defines as half of benefits plus other income, exceeds $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for joint filers. Those thresholds date to 1983 and aren’t indexed for inflation, so more retirees cross them every year. A traditional withdrawal counts toward the total. A qualified Roth withdrawal doesn’t.

Bad Markets, Big Bills and Life at 90

An RMD comes due whether stocks are up or down, which can mean selling shares right after a decline. A Roth has no deadline, so the owner can leave it invested in a weak year and spend from cash or other accounts while prices recover.

Big one-time expenses work the same way. Say you pay for a new roof, a car, a hospital bill, or a gift to your child out of a pre-tax retirement account. Each withdrawal shows up on your tax return, and any of them can push your income past a Medicare or Social Security threshold. Pay for the same things out of a Roth, and none of that happens. What you need at 75 rarely matches what you need at 90, and an account with no withdrawal schedule keeps those later choices open.

Where the Largest Payoff Often Lands

RMD rules come back after the owner dies. Under IRS Publication 590-B, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited Roth by the end of the 10th calendar year after death, unless they qualify as eligible designated beneficiaries who can spread withdrawals over their life expectancy. Qualified withdrawals still come out tax-free. A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary has more options: they can treat the Roth as their own or delay distributions until the decedent would have reached age 73.

A traditional IRA left to a child in their peak earning years comes as taxable income at that child’s rate. A Roth generally comes tax-free. For retirees who expect to leave money behind, this is often the strongest case for converting, and it depends on the heir’s tax bracket.

Five-Year Clocks Running in the Background

Earnings come out tax-free only in a qualified distribution. That requires the owner to be at least 59½ and requires five years to have passed since January 1 of the year of the first contribution. That one-time rule covers all of an owner’s Roth IRAs.

Each conversion also starts its own five-year timer. That timer only triggers a 10% penalty on early withdrawals of converted money by owners under 59½. Someone who starts converting at 62 is already past that age. Beneficiaries inherit the owner’s timer, and IRS rules specify how earnings are treated if the owner dies before the end of the 5-year period.

Keeping Some Money Outside the Roth

Holding nothing but a Roth limits flexibility in its own way. Retirees have the most control when they hold traditional, Roth, and taxable brokerage money, because they can take income from whichever source costs least each year. Traditional balances stay useful late in life. Medical costs above 7.5% of adjusted gross income are deductible, and those deductions can offset traditional withdrawals in a year of heavy care. A traditional IRA left to a charity also passes tax-free, since the charity is tax-exempt.

In a typical year, spending usually starts with any RMDs and taxable accounts. Traditional withdrawals come next, up to the top of a chosen tax bracket or IRMAA tier, and the Roth is used last.

What the Account Is Actually For

About $570,000 in a Roth at 73 works best as a standing option the owner can draw on when needed. It can cover a weak market year, a surprise bill, or a high-income year without adding to the tax return, and it can pass to heirs largely tax-free. The owner determines whether and when to spend it, for as long as they live.

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