Social Security, IRMAA, Roth Conversions, IRA Beneficiaries: Q&A #2618
The Retirement and IRA Show
Jim Saulnier, CFP® & Chris Stein, CFP®
4.3 • 729 Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2026
⏱️ 85 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jim and Chris discuss emails on Social Security survivor benefit strategies, IRMAA exceptions, Roth conversion timing during market downturns, and the implications of naming IRA beneficiaries directly versus routing assets through a trust.
(8:15) A listener whose husband plans to delay Social Security to 70 while she claims early at 62 asks whether she can still receive the maximum survivor benefit if he passes away before reaching 70.
(19:30) The guys field a question about whether the SSA-44 reduced work exception to IRMAA applies when the reduction in earned income is far too small to bring MAGI below the applicable tier.
(31:00) Jim and Chris address whether it makes sense to front-load Roth conversions during a market downturn so that subsequent recovery gains are captured tax-free.
(1:06:00) George wants to better understand the mechanics a trustee must navigate when distributing IRA assets to trust beneficiaries, compared to simply naming beneficiaries directly on the account.
The post Social Security, IRMAA, Roth Conversions, IRA Beneficiaries: Q&A #2618 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.
Transcript
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| 0:38.6 | This is the retirement and IRA show coming to you from beautiful Northern Colorado. |
| 0:44.0 | Join us as certified financial planner Jim Sondier, as well as Colorado State University |
| 0:49.0 | Finance instructor and certified financial planner Chris Stein, teach you abouts, 401k's, annuities, social |
| 0:56.7 | security, pension plans, and estate planning in a fun and enjoyable show. Whether you are listening |
| 1:02.5 | live in Colorado or streaming from their website or iTunes podcast, Jim and Chris want you to know |
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| 1:11.5 | Just visit their website at Jimhelps.com. |
| 1:14.7 | That's Jim H-E-L-P-S.com and click the Meet the Team button on the homepage. |
| 1:21.0 | Now here's Jim and Chris with today's show. |
| 1:27.2 | Hello, everybody. |
| 1:29.0 | Welcome to the Retirement and IRA show Q&A edition for this week. |
| 1:34.0 | We're recording this on the last day of April in 2026. |
| 1:38.6 | It'll play in a couple days, released to the public onnd, 2026, but I just was noticing a little earlier |
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