I can't figure out what is going on with one Roth Conversion scenario. Here is the setup:
Mode 1, all accounts types set to same asset allocation ratios, same mgmt costs.
Withdrawal order set to TD(D), Regular, Roth, Your TD, Spouse TD
Global copy S1 to S2, S3.
S1 = Specified Expenses
S2 = Fixed %
S3 = Specified with Smoothing
Update analysis MC and Historical on all 3 scenarios.
Performed MC Consumption Smoothing on S3, reran analysis on both MC and Historical
For Roth Conversion analysis:
I wanted to start with an almost "wide open" approach so set IRMAA, FPL = No limit, LTCG=15%, Max Tax = 32%, Spouse has priority. I played with # of years, from 10 to 2, but didn't see much difference in results.
S1: Converts both TD accts in 4 yrs.
S2: Converts both TD accts in 4 yrs
S3: Converts my TD in 3 yrs, no significant reduction in Spouse TD acct.
Set Acct Priority in S3 to "Spouse Only", replicate to bottom. Optimize changes the conversion years to "You Have Priority" and converts my acct without touching the Spouse TD.
I've gone through the inputs and tabular projections and can't figure out why PRC is doing this. I recognize that my Fin Assets Mgmt withdrawal order doesn't match my line item annual commands, but that is true on all 3 scenarios and 2 ran as expected. Any explanations why this behavior makes sense or where I need to poke?
@heiplans The current version of PRC2024 always uses "You Have Priority" when doing optimizations; however, I know of no reason why it should not convert your wife's TD account if you manually set the priority to "spouse". If this is not working for you, I'd be happy to investigate further if you'd send me an export file (to mail@pralanaconsulting.com).
Stuart
Thanks Stuart, I've spent a lot more time playing with conversions now and am more comfortable with the tool. I suspect I might know why it behaved this way for this one scenario, but I've gotten to the point that this issue is not important, at least to me now. If I need to dig in, and I can't figure it out on 2nd pass, maybe I'll come back at you/the forum.
Thanks again!
PS: I wish I had this tool a dozen years ago...
