Case Study · Retiree Couple
Using a Window Most Retirees Miss
How a couple used a short low-income gap to convert to Roth before it closed.
This is a hypothetical case study created for illustrative purposes only. It does not represent an actual client, and any resemblance to a real person is coincidental. It is not indicative of future results and should not be construed as a guarantee of any outcome.
The Situation
A gap between two retirement timelines
The husband, 67, had just retired and was starting Medicare and Social Security. His wife, 64, was still working for a few more years before her own retirement. That mismatch created a temporary low-income window for the household — one that would close as soon as she stopped working and both of their income sources fully kicked in.
Ages
67 / 64
Status
Staggered Retirement
Primary Concern
Roth Timing & IRMAA
The Challenge
A closing window, with no plan to use it
- No Roth conversion strategy existed — despite sitting in a genuinely low-income window before RMDs and the wife’s full retirement income began, nobody had flagged it as an opportunity.
- Withdrawals were happening in an ad hoc order — taxable, IRA, and other accounts were tapped without any coordination, risking an unnecessary IRMAA surcharge as income rose.
- The wife’s remaining working years weren’t factored in — her income, her eventual Medicare enrollment, and his Social Security taxation were all being considered separately instead of as one household picture.
The Approach
Using the window before it closed
- Identified the temporary low-income window and ran targeted Roth conversions sized to fill it without spilling into a higher bracket.
- Built a withdrawal sequencing plan that kept household income under the key IRMAA thresholds.
- Coordinated the timing of the wife’s eventual retirement, Medicare enrollment, and Social Security claiming with the household’s overall tax picture.
Illustrative Outcome
The couple converted a meaningful amount to Roth at a lower rate than they would have paid just a few years later, while staying clear of an IRMAA surcharge that an uncoordinated withdrawal approach would likely have triggered.
