I am 55 and will retire in 2 years. I am in the 28% tax bracket. If I convert a portion of my regular IRA to a Roth before 12/31/98 as recommended by the Forbes calculator, I will owe a lot of taxes over the next four years. My tax rate after retirement will be 15%. This means that I will pay taxes at the rate of 28% for the first two years, and 15% for the next two.

I will not need to withdraw from my Roth for at least 10 years. WHY SHOULD I CONVERT THIS YEAR? I plan to convert a portion each year AFTER retirement, if that is allowed. I propose to convert 1/4 of the recommended amount by Forbes each year for four years.I will pay tax all four years at the 15% level. tax, for the same dollar amount of conversion. Even accounting for 10% annual market increases, the total taxes should be less. What do others out there think?
Thanks,
Walt T.

It sounds like you have it figured correctly. Of course, keep in mind that the income from the conversion is on top of your other income, and could push you into a higher bracket.

But breaking up a conversion to stay in lower tax brackets is a great planning technique.

Obviously, with no knowledge of your entire situation, I can't speak of the advisability of converting vs not converting.

If you have any capital gains each year, just be sure to keep your total income i.e income including capital gains, in the 15% tax bracket. Otherwise your long term capital gains will be taxed at 20% instead of 10%.