A Roth annuity is an annuity contract held inside a Roth IRA. The Roth IRA is the tax wrapper; the annuity is the investment inside it. Roth annuities follow standard Roth IRA rules: contributions are after-tax, growth is tax-free, and qualified withdrawals (after age 59½ and 5 years) are tax-free.
How a Roth Annuity Works
You fund a Roth annuity through annual Roth IRA contributions (subject to the $7,000 / $8,000 limit and income phase-outs) or via a Roth conversion from a traditional IRA. The conversion is a taxable event in the year it occurs – you pay ordinary income tax on the converted amount – but all future growth and withdrawals are tax-free if rules are met.
No Required Minimum Distributions
Unlike a traditional IRA annuity, a Roth annuity is NOT subject to required minimum distributions during the original owner’s lifetime. This makes Roth annuities especially powerful for legacy planning – you can let the contract continue compounding indefinitely and pass the tax-free growth to heirs (subject to the SECURE Act 10-year payout rule for non-spouse beneficiaries).
When Roth Annuities Make Sense
Roth annuities are most valuable when:
- You expect to be in a higher tax bracket later in retirement
- You want to reduce future RMD-driven taxable income
- You’re using the annuity primarily as a legacy or estate-planning vehicle
- You’ve already used up tax-deferred contribution room
For pre-retirees with high current income who don’t need the immediate tax deduction, partial Roth conversions into Roth annuities over several years can lock in today’s tax rates while moving assets into a tax-free wrapper.
