Retiree Can Convert $43,000 a Year to Roth at 12% Through Age 72

4 articles · Updated · 24/7 Wall St. · May 20

$43,000 is the annual Roth conversion that keeps a 65-year-old single retiree with $1.6 million in a traditional 401(k) inside the 12% federal bracket under 2026 rules.
$74,550 of gross-income room comes from the $50,400 12% bracket ceiling plus $24,150 in deductions, but $25,500 of taxable Social Security reduces usable conversion space and leaves a prudent buffer for dividends or capital-gain surprises.
$5,160 of federal tax a year would move $344,000 into a Roth from ages 65 through 72, before required minimum distributions begin at 73 for this birth cohort.
At a 6% return, that untouched $344,000 could grow to about $548,000 and later be taxed through RMDs at roughly 22% to 24%, weakening the advantage if conversions are delayed or pushed too high.
$68,500 of AGI from a $43,000 conversion plus taxable Social Security stays well below the $109,000 single-filer IRMAA threshold, and the strategy works best when taxes are paid from taxable savings and the conversion is set late in the year.

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