I retired last year at 55. I have savings in a taxable investment account that I will live on until I am 59 1/2, when I will begin accessing my IRA. I do have some earnings this year from part time gigs, which will be low and will be in the 12% tax bracket. I want to maximize the income in this bracket (but remain in it) by converting as much as possible (without going over) from my traditional IRA to my Roth IRA, and I think I can figure out how much that should be. But what I am wondering about is should I made a contribution to my Roth, or to a traditional IRA? It seems to me that any tax benefit I receive from a contributing to a traditional IRA would be offset by the amount of taxes I'll be paying on the conversion to my Roth? Any suggestions?
