John. Good to see you. Today we're going to talk about the one money move that can add years to your nest egg. So let's address the number one fear of most retirees running out of money, and one way to make your nest egg last longer is to figure out how to keep all of it in your pocket, as opposed to sharing it with the government. So take a look at this recent headline from the Wall Street Journal. How can converting your tax deferred accounts to Roth accounts add years to your nest egg? Yes, and this goes to my favorite topic, taxes. And you meant, you mean you alluded to it. But one of my favorite phrases, it's not what you make, but it's what you keep in the end, and that includes what you keep from the IRS. So Roth conversions in your 60s can be very powerful, especially what we call the golden years between 60 and 65 before you start Medicare, because this is where you can really be aggressive. And how can you make that money last longer? Well, the simple fact of the matter is we know that we are in historically low tax rates. We also know that we are in historically high government debt of over $35 trillion right? They've been banging on this drum for nearly two decades. So we know it's a math equation. So what we want to do is we want to try to use the tax code to our advantage. 80,000 pages of information on how we can use it, and we want to try to pay our taxes at the lowest rates possible to make it more tax efficient. So by doing raw conversions, one of my favorite strategies, you are taking control of your future tax liability. I'm glad you mentioned today's historically low tax rates. Here's what that looks like. And John this was, of course, part of the reason that Roth conversion saw a 44% jump in 2024 however, President Elect Donald Trump has pledged to extend his 2017 tax so should we still be considering a conversion? Yeah, you know, I would love to say that I had a little bit to do with that, that historically high Roth conversion rate in 20 maybe, or joke all joking aside, I think it more had to do with people understanding the future tax liability, which I really like, right? A lot of people are concerned that tax cuts and job deck was expiring. I was concerned. So the good news, potentially, is that the tax cuts and Jobs Act can be extended out. I hope the good parts, I hope they take out the bad parts. That's a topic for another day, but that just gives us more time. It gives me more time to plan for my clients, and gives you more time to take advantage of the continuation of this historically low tax rate. So, you know, it's really the onus is really on you to take control of your tax future. What are some risks or downsides to Roth conversions that retirees should keep in mind. You know, the biggest risk that everyone likes to talk about is, well, what if tax rates go down? Well, let's take a look at that. We're at historically low tax rates. Could taxes go down? Sure they could. But how much more could they actually go down? Maybe a couple of percentage points Sure. On the flip side, could Taxes increase? Well, based on my, the my previous question, the answer to the previous question, absolutely they can increase. They're more likely to increase by a much larger amount than they are to decrease. So yeah, you know, yes, if tax rates go up, or, I'm sorry, if tax rates go down, that's the risk. The other risk is not understanding your tax bill, right? I can tell you all you know, Mr. and Mrs. Client, convert that $100,000 Guess what? I'm not the one paying the taxes next year, so you have to be comfortable writing that check to the IRS. The other thing is, is you need to do this in a very calculated version. I have a lot of people that come to my workshops, and then they, you know, they come out all gung ho. They want to convert all their money right away to Roth IRAs folks, you can't do that. You have to be aware of your tax brackets. We call it bracket bumping. And you definitely want to be aware of your modified adjusted gross income, especially if you're two years within claiming Medicare, or if you are claiming Medicare, because if you exceed certain modified adjusted gross income levels, your Medicare taxes or premiums are going to increase. So if you're trying to reduce your future tax liability, but you're increasing your tax liability of Medicare, it's counterproductive. So you want to be very product or very calculated in what you're doing, absolutely but the point is, you really do need to speak with somebody, because the time is now to crunch the numbers. So John, if somebody wants to do that with you, how can they get ahold of you? Yeah, well, you can go visit our website, www.gosecurs.com, you know Erin. We've talked about all sorts of Roth conversion planning and why it's important to do it, from higher tax rates to the widow tax to legacy planning, right? Leaving your kids the ability to grow money that could be taxed, that could be tax deferred and come out tax free for 10 years. Imagine leaving your kids $100,000 they don't touch that money for 10 years, it grows to $200,000 all that growth is tax free. So we have tons of resources on our website. While you're on our website, you can visit the contact us tab, where you can schedule a 20 minute phone call, where we will answer any general questions you have, or you can schedule a complimentary vision and clarity consultation. And, or, if you like doing things the old fashioned way, give us a call at the office. John, thanks so much for your time today. Thank you, Erin.