Tax Advisers Expect More than a Third of Clients to Convert to Roth IRA

The survey of nearly 500 tax advisers found they believe 43% of their clients would benefit from a Roth IRA conversion, since two-thirds (66%) of advisers also think income taxes will generally rise in the future. Most (88%) advisers also expect discussions with their clients about Roth IRA conversions will increase during the next six months.

Respondents say they start the conversation more than half (59%) of the time, and 57% of their clients are hearing about the opportunity for the first time. While interest levels are high (89%) after these conversations, advisers say their clients express some reservations about converting to a Roth IRA, with the biggest being the potential tax costs (see Report Warns of Cost of Roth Conversion).

According to the survey, half of tax adviser clients are planning to pay for a Roth IRA conversion from the account being converted. In addition, the majority (54%) plan to take advantage of the one-time opportunity this year to split the taxable income between their 2010 and 2011 tax filing years.

Of the 35% of clients who are expected to complete a conversion by year end, the majority (91%) have already started or completed the process. Nearly half (44%) of the conversions are $50,000 or more.

Among tax adviser clients who are likely to convert to a Roth IRA this year, half will be converting all eligible assets from accounts such as a Traditional IRA or 401(k) with a former employer.

Last year, Fidelity launched an online Roth IRA Conversion Evaluator and added other educational resources to its Web site (see Fidelity Adds Roth Conversion Resources).