Which account do you drain first in retirement? Compare conventional, Roth-conversion-aware, and bracket-fill withdrawal sequences year-by-year — federal-tax-aware — and see the lifetime tax and ending portfolio for each.
Your regular (non-retirement) brokerage account. Withdrawals here realize long-term capital gains on the growth portion.
What fraction of your taxable balance is money you put in (not growth). Only the gain portion of each withdrawal is taxed. Check your brokerage's unrealized-gains page.
Pre-tax 401(k)/IRA money. Every dollar withdrawn (or converted to Roth) is taxed as ordinary income.
Roth 401(k)/IRA money — withdrawals are tax-free. This tool treats the full balance as accessible (no 5-year-rule or age-59½ modeling).
Your after-tax spending target each year. The simulator withdraws enough extra to cover that year's tax bill on top of this.
The age withdrawals begin. The simulation runs from here to age 90.
One nominal annual return applied to all three accounts. Balances grow at this rate after each year's withdrawals.
The age your Social Security benefit begins. Years before this are the low-income window where Roth conversions are cheapest.
Your expected annual benefit. Once it starts, 85% is treated as taxable ordinary income (a simplification of the real phase-in rules).
Not sure what to enter? Use the Social Security Optimizer to compute your benefit.
| Period | Conventional | Roth-Conversion-Aware | Bracket Fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $1.62M | $1.61M | $1.61M |
| 51 | $1.63M | $1.61M | $1.62M |
| 52 | $1.65M | $1.62M | $1.63M |
| 53 | $1.67M | $1.63M | $1.65M |
| 54 | $1.69M | $1.63M | $1.66M |
| 55 | $1.72M | $1.64M | $1.67M |
| 56 | $1.74M | $1.65M | $1.69M |
| 57 | $1.76M | $1.66M | $1.71M |
| 58 | $1.78M | $1.68M | $1.72M |
| 59 | $1.80M | $1.69M | $1.74M |
| 60 | $1.82M | $1.71M | $1.76M |
| 61 | $1.84M | $1.72M | $1.78M |
| 62 | $1.87M | $1.74M | $1.80M |
| 63 | $1.89M | $1.76M | $1.82M |
| 64 | $1.92M | $1.78M | $1.84M |
| 65 | $1.94M | $1.80M | $1.86M |
| 66 | $1.97M | $1.82M | $1.88M |
| 67 | $2.04M | $1.87M | $1.94M |
| 68 | $2.10M | $1.93M | $2.00M |
| 69 | $2.17M | $1.99M | $2.07M |
| 70 | $2.24M | $2.05M | $2.13M |
| 71 | $2.31M | $2.12M | $2.20M |
| 72 | $2.39M | $2.18M | $2.27M |
| 73 | $2.48M | $2.26M | $2.35M |
| 74 | $2.56M | $2.33M | $2.43M |
| 75 | $2.65M | $2.41M | $2.52M |
| 76 | $2.75M | $2.50M | $2.61M |
| 77 | $2.85M | $2.59M | $2.70M |
| 78 | $2.96M | $2.68M | $2.80M |
| 79 | $3.07M | $2.77M | $2.90M |
| 80 | $3.18M | $2.88M | $3.01M |
| 81 | $3.31M | $2.98M | $3.12M |
| 82 | $3.44M | $3.10M | $3.24M |
| 83 | $3.57M | $3.21M | $3.37M |
| 84 | $3.71M | $3.34M | $3.50M |
| 85 | $3.86M | $3.47M | $3.64M |
| 86 | $4.02M | $3.60M | $3.78M |
| 87 | $4.18M | $3.75M | $3.93M |
| 88 | $4.35M | $3.90M | $4.09M |
| 89 | $4.53M | $4.06M | $4.26M |
This is a simplified planning model, not a projection of your actual taxes. Real withdrawal sequencing interacts with RMDs, state tax, ACA subsidies, IRMAA, and the Social Security taxation formula — all outside this model. Investment returns are not guaranteed. Not tax or financial advice; confirm any real withdrawal plan with a tax professional.