Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The above sub-title and a couple of pages before is one of the most important sections of the book and one of the reasons I gave this book two stars instead of one, which is what most authors get on this subject. So why is this book 100% better than most, but only 40% of where it should be? First, it is 100% better than most because he does understand almost all of the principles behind the Roth / traditional IRA decision as well as he gets points for adding a lot of IRA information, however that is a wash because most people don't need to know it or understand it. He is 40% behind where he should be because he fails to see the Roth accurately and properly "assess" the risk of being wrong about Roth IRAs and how much money could be lost when you are wrong. In Chapter Seven, he states that Congress's single best gift to investors was the Roth IRA. That could not be the furthest from the truth as most do not understand how much Roth they need or if they really need any. Let's look at the #2 Reason on the list NOT to do a Roth Conversion, which is actually my #1 Reason not to do a Roth Conversion. TAX RATES The author correctly states the fundamental principle of tax planning is to always pay taxes at the lowest rates. In other words, he is correct in pointing out that it is the "tax rate" that is the key, but he falls on his face in the next sentence when he states "The core issue for planning a Roth conversion is whether retirement will put you in a lower or higher tax BRACKET [my emphasis]. While you are working the "marginal tax bracket" is almost always the same as your "highest tax bracket as retirement savings is assumed to be that 10-15% that comes off the"marginal" extra dollars of your salary. In retirement, however, the money that would come out of the traditional IRA could span easily 2 or 3 tax brackets including the zero tax bracket of the standard deduction especially for people who have only Social Security and a Roth IRA because they have converted all of their IRA funds which this author suggests is the "safer" path. Stop and think for just 10 seconds what happens if you only have SS to spend and a Roth IRA. You are in the ZERO % tax bracket. How has this helped you avoid the author's #2 rule - "always pay taxes in the lowest tax bracket." The taxes you paid to get money in the Roth were certainly nowhere near the zero % bracket. With only SS income you start spending the traditional IRA money in the ZERO % bracket. You could probably also spend money in the 10% bracket and the 12% bracket and never be in a higher tax bracket than your marginal working rate. Even going from a MFJ tax bracket structure to the tax brackets of a single person doesn't demand a person go "all-in" on converting all their traditional IRA. Maybe I should have given the book 3 stars for all the other good information that is in there, however, I don't really think a book deserves even an average rating just because someone "knows the rules." You also have to know how to apply them and the most expensive thing a person can do to their retirement is paying too much tax upfront. There is NO reversing that mistake. You can always find advice on how much your RMD will be and when you need to take it. Once you pay the tax on the way into a Roth IRA, your "goose is cooked" as the saying goes. IF it turns out you were wrong there is no way to undo it.