Fill the 12% bracket — $64.8k/yr from retirement to RMDs
Fill the 12% bracket — $64.8k/yr from retirement to RMDs ends $443,701 ahead of convert nothing after tax, but pays $11,105 more tax over a lifetime. The two measures disagree.
- Which of those matters depends on what you are optimising for — ending wealth, or tax paid along the way.
- All of it under the assumptions listed below, which the reader can change.
What the tax change is made of
- Tax on dividends, interest and portfolio gains: +$60,174
- Federal income tax: −$49,069
These add back to the total change; they are the same taxes the projection sums into the headline, discounted the same way.
Not financial or tax advice.
Lifetime tax (present value)$558,455
Terminal after-tax wealth$7,489,264
Years in IRMAA0
What this assumes
Every figure below depends on these. Change one and the answer changes.
- Horizon
- 52 yearsHow many years the projection runs.
- Nominal return
- 5%Assumed annual growth before inflation.
- Inflation
- 2.5%Grows spending, and indexes brackets between published years.
- Discount rate
- 3%Used to present-value lifetime tax — the headline metric.
- Future tax law
- Current law continuesLeft on current law, the projection assumes today’s brackets last the whole horizon — itself a forecast, not a neutral choice.
Other assumptions (4)
- Dividend yield
- 1.2%
- Interest yield
- 0.8%
- Business cash return
- 2%
- Income growth
- 0%
Year by year
| Year | Age | Ordinary income | Conversion | RMD | Federal tax | Net worth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 38 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $51,304 | $1,863,733 |
| 1 | 39 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $50,587 | $2,086,212 |
| 2 | 40 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $49,851 | $2,317,814 |
| 3 | 41 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $49,098 | $2,558,934 |
| 4 | 42 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $48,325 | $2,809,983 |
| 5 | 43 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $47,533 | $3,071,393 |
| 6 | 44 | $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $46,935 | $3,343,613 |
| 7 | 45 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $5,185 | $3,409,521 |
| 8 | 46 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $5,120 | $3,476,437 |
| 9 | 47 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $5,053 | $3,544,546 |
| 10 | 48 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,985 | $3,613,874 |
| 11 | 49 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,916 | $3,684,447 |
| 12 | 50 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,844 | $3,756,292 |
| 13 | 51 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,771 | $3,829,436 |
| 14 | 52 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,696 | $3,903,909 |
| 15 | 53 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,619 | $3,979,738 |
| 16 | 54 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,540 | $4,056,955 |
| 17 | 55 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,459 | $4,135,590 |
| 18 | 56 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,376 | $4,215,676 |
| 19 | 57 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,291 | $4,297,247 |
| 20 | 58 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,204 | $4,380,337 |
| 21 | 59 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,115 | $4,464,983 |
| 22 | 60 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $4,023 | $4,551,221 |
| 23 | 61 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,929 | $4,639,090 |
| 24 | 62 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,833 | $4,728,632 |
| 25 | 63 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,734 | $4,819,889 |
| 26 | 64 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,633 | $4,912,904 |
| 27 | 65 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,530 | $5,007,724 |
| 28 | 66 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,424 | $5,104,397 |
| 29 | 67 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,315 | $5,202,973 |
| 30 | 68 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,203 | $5,303,506 |
| 31 | 69 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $3,089 | $5,406,051 |
| 32 | 70 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $2,972 | $5,510,666 |
| 33 | 71 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $2,852 | $5,617,082 |
| 34 | 72 | $0 | $64,800 | $0 | $12,302 | $5,708,047 |
| 35 | 73 | $0 | $0 | $34,224 | $19,990 | $5,798,030 |
| 36 | 74 | $0 | $0 | $29,681 | $20,489 | $5,887,626 |
| 37 | 75 | $0 | $0 | $24,163 | $21,002 | $5,976,694 |
| 38 | 76 | $0 | $0 | $17,671 | $21,527 | $6,065,083 |
| 39 | 77 | $0 | $0 | $10,013 | $22,065 | $6,152,631 |