With the new rules regarding retirement accounts and the ability to convert them into a Roth IRA account, having a Roth IRA Conversion Calculator is an important tool when figuring out whether an IRA conversion is right for you. In this post we will cover a couple of the best calculators available right now and how to use them.
Converting to a Roth IRA is a good idea for most people which is exactly why the new rules about transferring retirement accounts is such a big deal. Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay some money up front for the conversion so if you are strapped for cash right now it may not be the best time, but for those that do, it should save you a good amount of money over the long run.
In my opinion, the best conversion calculator out there right now is from CalcXML. You can see a screen shot below, and to get to the calculator click here.
With this Roth IRA conversion calculator, you can see all of the relevant details that you’ll need to figure out whether or not to convert in a nicely formatted table as well as a helpful graph. If you have any questions about conversions, or Roth IRA’s in general, please check out the other areas of our site to learn more before using a calculator.
Vanguard, a leading company in retirement accounts, put together a great page to see the key points you should consider before converting. They also have a little widget where you can answer a couple quick questions and it will tell you right away whether a conversion should be in your future. It’s not an actual conversion calculator but it’s a good resource for those wanting to learn more about a Traditional vs Roth IRA. To go to this page click here.
Smart Money offers another great Roth IRA conversion calculator that many people use as their main tool when making the decision. It’s lacking one or two features that our first calculator has, but overall it’s a great calculator and offers a little more detail and explanation which can help if you aren’t an expert in this area. To visit this calculator click here, or click on the screen shot we’ve posted below.
Hopefully these resources will help you with your choice on whether to keep your retirement money where it’s at or move it over. As new tools become available we will keep this post updated with the latest and most helpful links.
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