If Congress fails to act, income taxes will increase for all wage earners in 2011. A few Democrats are starting to question whether the Bush Tax cuts should expire at the end of this year and may join with Republicans to extend the tax cuts. No matter what happens, 2010 may be the best year to convert your traditional IRA / 403(b) / 401(k) assets to a Roth IRA. Do not let this opportunity slip away from you.

Scenarios where a Roth IRA conversion may be suitable:
? High income client who wants to pass tax-free assets to his heirs
? Man who wants to protect the income of his younger, surviving wife
? Single man who pays taxes on his Social Security
? High Income couple who will have a much lower retirement income

Are you wondering if Roth conversion is for you? I have been helping clients figure that out. Further more, I have been helping them implement a tax strategy that can benefit them and their family for years to come.

You have been receiving annual social security statement every year around your birthday time. Have you ever stopped to read the message on the statement? Here is a brief quote of the message by Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue on the front page of last year's statement:

"In 2017 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money to pay only 78 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits."

I saw an article yesterday on a financial advisor's publication about the call to raise normal retirement age from 67 to 70. Click HERE for a copy of the article. Are you one of those who count on Social Security payment as a main source of retirement income? You should think again about the security of your retirement finance. What income can you really count on that will be there as long as you live? Are you one of the few fortunate ones that still have company pensions? You have worked all your life for the day when you can stop working and start enjoying all that life has to offer. How can you make sure that you don't outlive your financial resources before you run out of life? You have insured everything valuable in your life - your house, your car, your health. You even insure appliances and vacations. But, have you thought about insuring your retirement? If you think that the government will take care of you, you have to think again. What if all the government could do is to ask for your understanding that "we are broke"?

The worst time to not have money is when you no longer have the ability to work. Therefore, it makes sense to think about your retirement right now and have the sources of retirement income worked out.

I started working in the retirement financial field when few people cared about it, as people were getting double-digit gains in their Wall Street investments thinking that they had found the perfect "money machine" to erase all money worries forever. Today, I specialize in retirement financial planning with emphasis on retirement income planning. I have helped clients successfully create their own security in retirement by setting up their own pensions. I have brought peace of mind to clients, who are now enjoying better quality of life, better health and better relationships because of the wise decisions that I helped them make about their retirement.

Prioritizing is the single most important point to remember when you do financial planning.

On top of the prioritizing list, is setting goals. Goal-setting is the first step in achieving success in any field. Without setting a goal or goals, one tends to drift aimlessly, resulting in wasted time and resources, which further lead to frustration and depression.

When setting goals, one should think about the time frame that goals need to be reached. Long term goals are general in nature, for 15 years and beyond, and should include something like "Financial Independence", "Financial Security", "Retiring in X Years", "Afford Doing Things That Bring Fulfillment", "Enjoy Life at Its Best". Mid term goals are the kind of trend one likes to have going in life, ranging from 5 to 10 years, such as "growing X amount of dollars", "pay off certain debts", "afford certain life styles". Short term goals are for now and the next 2 to 3 years, things like "protecting my asset from risks", "avoiding further loss from current positions", "finding ways to maximize tax savings", "finding a financial advisor and strategy that reflects my value and helps me reach my long term goals". With short term strategy, one should be as detailed as possible, and list ways to achieve each goal.

Prioritizing means to put first thing first. What is first thing? It is what is important to you. It is something that you know if you don't take care of, the quality of your life would have to take a huge discount, something that will haunt you again and again until you set it right.

Life is like a wheel with different areas such as financial, relationships, physical, emotional, professional and spiritual as the different spokes of the wheel. A wheel moves the most efficiently when all spokes are strong and balanced. When one spoke is not in balance with the rest of the wheel, it will ensure a bumpy ride, and no matter how strong the other spokes are, sooner or later, they will all be hindered and damaged by the sick spoke.

The weakening economy and crashing wall street left many people with a damaged spoke in their wheel of life. If unattended, the damage won't cure itself and further will impact the operation of other spokes. Why do we have to do anything? First all, what does the history tell us? From the crash of 2000, now 10 years later, has it proved that the market loss will fix itself? How many have used the strategies of old decades and come out a winner? NONE. Second of all, time has changed, rules have changed. To succeed in today's environment, we got to play by the new rules. Third of all, does one tell himself that it doesn't hurt when his foot got shot or does he stop to take the bullet out and nurse the wound right away? It is a matter of keeping the foot or losing the leg. Shall we dress the wound now?

If this seems like an opportunity you want to explore, it makes sense for you to meet financial and tax professionals to evaluate your situation. Expect your professionals to help you:

- Evaluate whether this is the right move for you,
- Understand the amount you would need to pay in taxes upon conversion,
- Make sure you have funds outside the IRA to pay the taxes,
- Plan whether you should do this all in 2010 or spread it out over time, and
- If you choose to move your Roth IRA funds to a new provider, ensure that your funds move safely from your old provider to your new provider via a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

Where to Find More Information?
The tax treatment of IRAs is a complex subject that is thoroughly discussed in IRS Publication 590. We recommend that you obtain a copy of this publication from the IRS website, www.irs.gov, and study it. Any discussion of the tax treatment of IRAs in this brochure merely touches on some key points and cannot hope to duplicate the thoroughness of the IRS publication.