remember chief inspector jacques clouseau? he goes up to a guy with a dog. he says, "does your dog bite?" he say, "no, my dog does not bite." so he goes to pet the nice little doggy, and it bites him and rips his arm out, and the blood is gushing. he says, "i thought your dog doesn't bite." "that's not my dog." you have to ask the right questions. so here are the right questions for a roth conversion. it boils down to three questions: when, what, and where? when will you need the money? what do you think future tax rates will be? and where are you gonna get the money to pay the tax? when will you need the money? if you don't need the money, then you're not converting for yourself. and remember, it's not based on age. it's need. because some people come up and say, "well, i'm 80. am i too old to convert?" it's not age. it's need. for example, if you need the money, it's not worth it. i would say, if you're in your mid-70s or older, it doesn't pay to convert if you're doing it for yourself, because the cost of paying the taxes now isn't worth the benefit in yo