Along with travel and spending more time with family, having assets in a Roth has become an item on many retirees’ wish lists. That’s because Roth withdrawals are generally tax-free in retirement, assuming certain conditions are met,1,2 and they don’t require minimum distributions during the owner’s lifetime, giving retirees greater flexibility over the timing and amount of their withdrawals.
“My clients in retirement tend to love their Roth accounts, commenting that they know the money is ‘all theirs’ compared to the assets in their IRAs, where they have to mentally estimate and deduct out the portion that will need to go toward taxes,” says Christine Chase, vice president, financial consultant at Fidelity Investments.
Roth accounts can also offer benefits in estate planning, since beneficiaries typically also enjoy tax-free distributions,1,2 and Roths are a more tax-efficient asset to leave to a trust than traditional IRAs.
Roth IRAs and high-income earners
Many of Chase’s higher-income clients can’t contribute directly to Roth IRAs, however, since eligibility phases out once your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) reaches $153,000 for a single person and $242,000 for a married couple filing jointly. In 2026, single filers with MAGI of $168,000 or more and married couples filing jointly with MAGI of $252,000 or more are not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA.
For her higher-net-worth clients, Chase often looks at whether one of several alternative methods of building Roth assets might make sense within the context of their full financial plan. “What works well for one person may not suit another,” she notes.
If your income puts you above the threshold for a direct Roth IRA contribution, here are 4 Roth funding options you can still consider.
1. Save in a Roth-designated account in a workplace retirement plan
How to do it: If your employer plan allows Roth contributions, this is a straightforward way to get assets into a Roth account. You may choose to contribute exclusively to the Roth, or you may split your contributions across Roth and pre-tax balances. There are no income limits for Roth 401(k) contributions.
In 2026, your combined contribution limit across Roth and pre-tax contributions is $24,500, though there are multiple catch-up options: If you are age 50 or older, you may contribute up to an additional $8,000, and if you are age 60–63 and your employer allows for it, you may choose to contribute up to an additional $11,250 in lieu of the $8,000 catch-up. For withdrawals from Roth designated accounts to be tax-free, they must be considered qualified.2
Take note: If you earned more than $150,000 in FICA wages in 2025, you are required to make catch-up contributions to a Roth balance in 2026 (and if your wages exceed this threshold and your employer does not offer a Roth option, you cannot make catch-up contributions).
2. Convert an existing traditional IRA to a Roth IRA
How to do it: You can convert any amount of your traditional IRA to a Roth with no income limits. The catch: You must pay income tax, at your ordinary income rate, on any pre-tax contributions, as well as any tax-deferred earnings. “Especially if you’ve had the accounts for a while, you’ll likely have to pay substantial taxes on the converted amount,” warns Chase. Then there’s the pro-rata rule, which states that all your IRA accounts are viewed in aggregate when calculating taxes due. So if you have pre-tax and post-tax IRA contributions as well as earnings in any IRAs, your conversion will be taxed based on the ratio of pre- and post-tax money across all of your IRAs.
Take a hypothetical investor who has $100,000 across their IRAs, with $30,000 in pre-tax contributions, $10,000 in after-tax contributions, and $60,000 in earnings. If they did a conversion, then 90% ((60,000 + 30,000) /100,000) of the converted amount would be taxed.
Another consideration to keep in mind is the 5-year aging rule, which says that you must wait until 5 years after the start of the tax year in which you performed the conversion to withdraw the converted balance without paying a 10% early withdrawal penalty, if that applies (note that there are exceptions to the 10% early withdrawal penalty for conversions, including death, disability, and turning age 59½, among others). However, because you paid taxes on the conversion in the year you performed it, you would not need to pay taxes if you are over 59½ even if the 5-year rule is not met. The 5-year rule is applied separately for each conversion.
Also, keep in mind that there is a separate 5-year rule that governs whether Roth account earnings are tax-free.
When you may want to consider it: The decision about whether to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth is complex, but often comes down to an investor’s current tax rate compared to the tax rate they expect to have post-retirement. If you expect your tax rate to stay the same or even increase later, converting and paying the taxes on your IRA sooner rather than later may make sense. You may also want to consider a conversion if you have no earned income for the year and are thus ineligible for making contributions to Roth, or if you want to increase your Roth assets by more than the annual contribution limits allow for.
Early retirement years before required minimum distributions start can sometimes offer an opportunity for conversions, says Chase. “I’ve worked with recently retired clients who had a gap between retirement and when required minimum distribution or pension income began, and we used that window to convert portions of their pre-tax assets to create more flexibility later in retirement,” says Chase. Some of Chase’s other clients view Roth conversions as a way to pay taxes on behalf of their heirs.
In either case, it’s also important to consider how you might pay for the taxes on the converted amount; if it would force you to sell appreciated securities, for example, the resulting tax hit might supersede savings on the Roth conversion. In addition, since conversions often result in increasing your income, converting an amount that would push you into a higher tax bracket could make the strategy less advantageous. If you are considering a Roth conversion, it’s important to consult with a tax professional.
3. Fund a backdoor Roth
How to do it: You make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA, then start the process of converting it to a Roth. By converting as soon as possible, the assets don’t have much opportunity for growth, so you may not need to pay much if any taxes on the converted amount. You’re limited to contributing, and thus converting, up to the annual IRA limit, which is $7,500 in 2026 (people age 50 and older can make an additional $1,100 contribution in 2026).
When you may want to consider it: While more complex than funding a Roth 401(k), a backdoor Roth IRA can be a useful strategy for high earners who want to save assets in a Roth. Similar to conversions of existing traditional IRA assets, you need to meet the requirements for a qualified withdrawal to access your earnings without tax or penalty.1
Making a backdoor Roth contribution, however, can cause unexpected tax consequences. The pro-rata rules also come into play for backdoor Roth contributions, so to take full advantage this strategy you cannot have any existing IRAs with pre-tax contributions or earnings. “These calculations can be very complicated,” says Chase. “Especially if you have substantial assets in existing IRAs, it’s very important to work with a tax professional.”
4. Consider a mega backdoor Roth
How to do it: If you have a 401(k) plan, you may be able to convert your existing pre-tax and after-tax 401(k) balances to a Roth 401(k), if your plan allows in-plan conversions. Same as with Roth conversions, you’ll need to pay income taxes on pre-tax contributions, any company match or profit sharing (assuming it was made on a pre-tax basis), and tax-deferred earnings. Roth 401(k) conversions are also subject to 5-year aging rules.
If your plan allows it, you may also be able to use a mega backdoor Roth strategy, which involves making after-tax contributions to your 401(k) and then converting them to a Roth. Similar to the backdoor IRA, by converting as soon as possible without allowing your contributions much time to incur earnings, you are less likely to see significant tax consequences. Conversions of the after-tax balance of your 401(k) are not subject to the pro-rata rule as long as you convert the full balance of your after-tax contributions (but beware of the pro-rata rule if you have assets in pre-tax IRAs). A tax professional can advise you on the potential tax impacts of the strategy on your situation.
When you may want to consider it: Your employer retirement plan must allow for after-tax contributions and offer a Roth 401(k) with the option for in-plan Roth conversions or in-service withdrawals, so you can roll over after-tax contributions to your 401(k) to a Roth IRA. If so, the mega backdoor strategy can allow you to build up Roth assets far faster than the backdoor method, since you can contribute up to the much-larger annual 401(k) limits (hence the “mega” designation).
In 2026, the limits are $24,500 for workers under 50, up to an aggregate contribution limit of $72,000, which includes all employee pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax contributions plus all employer contributions. The aggregate limits to employee and employer contributions are $80,000 for those age 50 and over and, if the plan allows for a “super catch-up,” $83,250 for those age 60–63.
For example, suppose a 49-year-old worker has contributed the maximum of $24,500 in pre-tax or Roth contributions, and their employer has also contributed half of this amount, or $12,250, in matching contributions. In that case, the maximum that they could contribute after-tax to their 401(k) for 2026 would be $35,250 ($72,000-$24,500-12,250).
Getting help
Roth IRA conversion strategies can be complicated, and with tax and retirement rules continually changing, it can be difficult to determine which options are truly appropriate for your circumstances. If you’re thinking about incorporating Roth IRAs into your retirement strategy, it may be helpful to consult a financial professional who can work with you to identify the most suitable approach for your situation.