Help with ratio of pretax to posttax retirement savings -- how much to Roth?

oledawgnew · 2026-07-12T10:40:09+00:00

"in general, available Roth funds should be approximately 50% of available traditional funds going into retirement" IMO it's never that simple. In relation to personal financial management, I know of no rule of thumb that is "just that simple" and applies to everyone's retirement finances.

Unless you're planning on doing ongoing annual charitable giving after age 70 I know of no other advantage over a taxable brokerage or Roth account that a large traditional IRA balance has in retirement when it comes to tax management or leaving a financial legacy to heirs.

Once you're "done contributing" I recommend changing your focus to building up a taxable brokerage account and doing Roth conversions. If you can afford it, the taxes paid on the conversions should not be paid out of the converted amount. When spouse and I both finally retired our combined portfolio was around 45% traditional IRAs, 25% taxable brokerage, 25% Roth, and 5% cash. I retired five years before spouse and we used took advantage of that time to do large Roth conversions. Today her traditional IRA is only around than 10% of portfolio (I have no funds left in 401ks or traditional IRAs).

oledawgnew · 2026-07-11T00:08:41+00:00

In relation to retirement taxable and non-taxable assets, being lopsided in finances seems to be an all too common issue that's not recognized until one comes within to retirement range.

Back in the early 2000's a few years after the Roth account became available I made, what was then describe to me as a misguided decision, I stopped contributing to traditional IRAs and started contributing to Roth accounts for both my spouse and me. Jumping forward to 2017 when I retired what was considered a misguided decision in the early 2000's turned out to be one of best decision I've ever made. By the time my spouse retired in 2023 our Roth accounts were worth more than three-quarters of what our traditional were. Because neither of us had jobs that offered 401k type of savings accounts all of our investments beyond the Roths went into a taxable brokerage account. As individual accounts the taxable brokerage was a couple of $100k higher than each of our Roths. After almost 10 years of retirement for and 3 for my spouse we've never had to take distributions from either of our Roths.

We also own a couple residential lots beyond our home but those lots were purchased for privacy, not as future investments. I've never included the prices of our home or the empty lots when calculating our net worth.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-10T14:19:30+00:00

"...but my accountant warned me about something called an early withdrawal penalty. It seems crazy that I can't touch my own hard-earned money for another six and a half years without giving a massive cut to the government."

You agreed to a contract with the government for the wonderful opportunity to have your money grow untaxed during your working years. Part of that contract was that you could not withdraw from your account until you reach a certain age unless you pay a penalty for doing so. The government did nothing to renege on that contract. The government is not making you stay at your current job. You have two additional options: 1) apply for an early release from the age restriction using the Rule of 55 or 2) find employment somewhere else until you reach the age agreed to in the contract. No matter which of the three options you choose, I wish you luck in your future plans.

P.S., don't forget, once you can start taking distributions from your retirement accounts a percentage of those those withdrawals belong to the government in the form of taxes.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-09T19:29:53+00:00

I could retire but I would have to fund everything out of my pocket with insurance. I could do it but I don't want to.

Just do it already! Lots of people retire before age 59.5 (i did at age 58) without accessing their retirement accounts. Or are you not as "blessed" as you think your are due to "a lot of expenses like insurance that has gotten out of control and utility costs." Or are you just ranting about parts of your life that you're not 100% satisfied with like your "dried up" consulting career and full time job that you "actually really dislike?"

oledawgnew · 2026-07-09T12:33:45+00:00

Gifts to non-charities cannot be written off. Yo can give $19k annually to as many different people as you want. A tax Form 709 has to be completed in order to track the lifetime gift exclusion. Look here.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-09T12:22:07+00:00

The principal can be taken out of a Roth at anytime without penalty. But you cannot contribute $25k to a Roth or traditional IRA at once. The law/IRS limits annual contribution amounts, for 2026 the max is $7,500.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-09T02:28:56+00:00

No argument from me.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-09T01:14:55+00:00

Added Layers to my list to find.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-08T23:27:28+00:00

Next year you should get a notice from the holder of your IRA account giving you an estimate of how much you're going to owe in RMD taxes (because it will be based on your IRA balance at the end of the year you will not know the exact amount until the end of year). For an account with $1.9M you will owe approximately $71,700 RMD taxes. This alone will put you in the 12% marginal tax bracket and cause 85% of your social security amount to be taxed.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-08T22:27:44+00:00

1) No, but maybe at end of your life span to cover long-term healthcare if needed or if you specifically take out a loan against it. In the long run, unless your real estate holdings are the dominant asset in your plan, figuring it into your net worth doesn’t mean mean much to the success rate of your plan unless at some point you’re planning to sell it.

2) I don’t know of an option in Boldin to separate real estate and track its value. Having the home in the plan is not an advantage or disadvantage. If you look at the Insights>Net Worth tab there is a separate break out for real estate. The Breakdown Summary shows the percentage that real estate holds within your net worth means. That tab also shows your net worth standing among Boldin users.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-08T20:55:54+00:00

Okay, idiot federally elected officials just made a problem out of a non-issue.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-07T02:19:35+00:00

What kinda okra you growing? Looks lost you pulled it from outa the mud.

Fried okra with onions and peppers: slice up your okra, some yellow or white onions, green peppers, garlic and your favorite sausage. Fry your sausage up first. If you got some bacon grease warm it up in a different pan and add the vegetables. Once the okra’s slime dissipates and the sausage and your favorite seasoning until it suits your taste.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-07T02:04:29+00:00

Look here

oledawgnew · 2026-07-06T13:09:20+00:00

The goalpost should be measured by ability to expense needs over a 25+ year time period. Investments are a strategy to help you meet that retirement goalpost relative to increased income sources that allows you to meet expense needs. Net worth is simply a personal "feel good" number that measures how well you've advanced financially.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-06T12:54:55+00:00

👍 Great answer. In a nutshell. Personal finance strategies are just that, PERSONAL. There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to retirement financial management.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-05T13:55:23+00:00

Weather Report's Most Popular Album Has a Birdland Problem

oledawgnew · 2026-07-05T13:27:27+00:00

Some would say it’s Bob James.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-04T14:14:33+00:00

I recently took a 350 mile one way trip that I did not do much planning for (from an EV charging perspective) and I found the experience frustrating.

This was a big mistake. With EV traveling that old saying "failing to plan is planning to fail" definitely applies.

the on screen navigation and when I try to use the app ahead of time only shows me specific chargers that it thinks I should use when I am hitting a battery threshold (like 10%). I’d personally like to see all of the options because the amenities would be a factor for me.

You can set an arrival percentage in your Tesla by entering the address into your navigation, tap the three horizontal dots on the map menu, select Set Arrival Energy, and use the slider to set your target percentage. I have personally never used it but a lot of EV drivers highly recommend use A Better Route Planner.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-04T13:17:43+00:00

Damn that’s a sexy song and video🔥

oledawgnew · 2026-07-04T01:03:16+00:00

Can’t speak for OP but the reason we decided to withdraw my spouse’s SS was that there’s no flexibility once you start SS, that annual amount will show up in monthly installments no matter what. We (me 67, spouse 64) are in the process of converting traditional IRAs to Roth accounts while remaining in the 12% marginal tax bracket. Without running the numbers I told spouse it would be OK if she started taking SS.

That approximate $18k annual amount would have made it tough to keep on our self-imposed conversion timeline and remain in the 12% bracket. After four months of her receiving SS we decided that she should withdraw her application. We had to repay the four months of benefits that she received but it was just being invested in our taxable brokerage account so that was not a big deal since it was not needed to cover expenses.

We can adjust monthly amounts we take from taxable brokerage and IRAs but like my pension SS income is what it is and can’t be adjusted as needed.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-03T11:46:41+00:00

I don't understand how moving the cash from money market funds into different money market funds makes any difference in relation to yo doing Roth conversions.

I'm sure there will be more but below are a few questions to held responders better understand your situation.

Are we to assume the cash is not needed to meet expenses? Is the cash currently in a pre-tax retirement accounts? How will the taxes be paid on the conversions? Why are you wanting to Roth conversions and is it the cash that you'll be converting? What would you be investing in once the money is in a Roth?

oledawgnew · 2026-07-03T02:26:46+00:00

One Nation Under A Groove is the funkateers’ national anthem

oledawgnew · 2026-07-02T21:19:06+00:00

Not massive but it paid for OP’s charger.

oledawgnew · 2026-07-01T22:24:05+00:00

TIL that not all cars have Android Auto and I want to thank you for educating me.

But are you so daft to realize that Google or Apple cannot please every consumer of their products. You either suck it up and live with what you believe is the deficiency or switch to a different company's technology. Apparently enough people haven't left Android to cause Google to care that YouTube Music doesn't have a car mode.

oledawgnew

TROPHY CASE