Move it while it's cheap

Money in a traditional 401(k) has not been taxed yet — the bill arrives when you take it out. A Roth conversion pays that bill early, deliberately, in a year when your rate is low.

The opportunity is the stretch between your last paycheck and the day Social Security begins, when taxable income may be near zero for the only time in your adult life. Convert enough to fill the 12% bracket and no more, every year, and you move a large balance across at a rate you may never see again. Each conversion also becomes penalty-free five years later, which turns the ladder into a bridge as well as a tax play.

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