WHAT WE DO
Convert your IRA to a Roth on your timeline — not the IRS's. Use FIA bonus credits to soften the tax. Grow tax-free for life. Pass it to your kids without losing 40% to taxes.
See what this means for you ↓Most people think their 401(k) and traditional IRA are retirement accounts. They're not. They're tax-deferred liabilities. Every dollar in those accounts is pre-tax — meaning the IRS owns a piece of every dollar you've saved.
And here's the part nobody tells you: the IRS gets to decide what their piece is worth — later. After you've stopped working. After Congress raises rates. After Required Minimum Distributions force you to pull money out whether you need it or not.
At age 73 — or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later — the IRS comes calling.
RMDs force withdrawals. Those withdrawals push you into higher tax brackets. Those higher brackets make more of your Social Security taxable. That extra income drives up your Medicare premiums. The account you spent 30 years building can hand 40-50% of itself to the government over your retirement.
Most advisors won't show you the math on this. Either because they don't know it, or because the products they sell don't solve it. We do both.
A Roth Conversion is the only legal way to take money that the IRS partially owns and turn it into money that's 100% yours. Once it's converted, three things change forever:
The catch? You have to pay the tax now. That's where most people stop — because writing a tax check feels worse than letting the IRS collect quietly over time.
This is where Smart Life Financial does something nobody else in your local market is doing.
We use FIA bonus credits to absorb the conversion tax.
A Fixed Indexed Annuity with a premium bonus credit can add 10-20% to your account balance the day you fund it. We use that bonus to offset the tax cost of the conversion. Done right, the bonus pays for most or all of the tax — meaning you convert to Roth at a fraction of the apparent cost.
Then we spread the conversion over 5-7 years. Stay in your tax bracket. Avoid the IRMAA Medicare surcharge cliff. Keep your Social Security from getting hammered. Move methodically — not in a panic.
"This isn't tax avoidance. It's tax architecture."
Let's run a real scenario. The numbers below are typical for a couple in their early 60s with $1M in a traditional IRA, $150K of household income, and 8 years until retirement.
Option A — Do Nothing
Option B — The Smart Life Conversion
The difference: $2.18 million in family wealth. Not by earning more — by keeping more.
That's not a marketing number. That's the actual math from our Roth Engine, the same calculator we use with every client. Every input is editable. Every output is CPA-auditable. Every formula is cited to the IRC code section it comes from.
Year-by-year plan showing exactly how much to convert each year, what bracket it puts you in, what your IRMAA exposure is, and what your tax check will be — for the entire conversion window.
We model the right product for your situation — bonus credit, growth strategy, LTC multiplier — and show you exactly how much of the tax it absorbs.
Every plan we deliver comes with an IRC-cited tax proof your CPA can verify line by line. We don't show you a sales pitch. We show you the math.
Permanent record of every conversion, every 1099-R, every Form 8606, every basis calculation. If the IRS ever asks, the audit defense file is one button away.
We don't just plan it. We execute it with you. Year-end 1099-R coordination, bracket monitoring, and adjustments as your situation evolves.
This is multi-year work. Your conversion plan changes as the tax code changes, as your income changes, as life changes. We're with you the whole way.
Two ways to begin. Pick whichever feels right. If you want to fill out the Discovery Form first so we have your numbers when we talk, start there. If you'd rather have a conversation first, book a call. Either path leads to the same place — a custom plan with real math, designed for your life.
Built for what's next. Strategy for the world that's coming — not the one that's gone.
Disclosures
Smart Life Financial LLC is an independent insurance agency. Scott Borhauer, NPN 20016169.
Any references to guaranteed income, lifetime income, principal protection, or annuity benefits refer to insurance contracts. Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Annuities are not bank deposits, not FDIC insured, not insured by any federal government agency, and may lose value in the case of early surrender. Product features, fees, surrender schedules, and income amounts vary by carrier, product, state, age, and issue date and are subject to change. No specific product is recommended on this page.
Any examples shown are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only. They do not represent a quote, an offer, or the performance of any specific product. Individual results depend on your own circumstances.
This material is for informational purposes and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment advice. Rollovers, Roth conversions, required minimum distributions, and estate planning decisions carry tax and legal consequences. Consult a qualified tax professional and attorney regarding your specific situation.
Smart Life Financial LLC · 8530 Eagle Point Blvd, Suite 100, Lake Elmo, MN 55042 · (952) 592-3900