The scenario proposed for my wife and me had us doing substantial IRA withdrawals and Roth conversions during the next 10 years. The result is a tax report as follows.
Year 1 -marginal tax bracket 35%
Year 2 - marginal tax bracket 33%
Years 3-6 - marginal tax bracket 28%
Years 7-26 - marginal tax bracket 25%
Years 27+ - marginal tax bracket 15%
Here are a couple statement from their FAQs
ORP reduces taxes on RMD withdrawals by lowering the IRA balance early in retirement, first by conversions, followed by withdrawals above the RMD level. After mid retirement IRA withdrawals are pegged to the RMD.
My approach has been to do conversions just into the 25% bracket until age 70 or so, the let ourselves be pushed into a higher tax bracket when I am in my 80's (if, by chance I avoid the inevitable until that age). Personal longevity in my family makes it unlikely that RMDs on my benefits would ever push us into a bracket of 28% or higher.If IRA to Roth IRA conversions are allowed in these cases then conversions for a few years early in the plan that edge into a higher tax bracket are optimal. Only a relatively small portion of the withdrawal is taxed at the higher rate, not the whole withdrawal. . . . This leads to some counter intuitive withdrawal schedules but which make sense when you disassemble them.
Has anyone else questioned the results for the reason I present here?