Retiring across two countries: a Roth ladder for an NRI couple

A senior tech couple in NJ planning a retirement, split between the US and Bengaluru — and the five-year Roth conversion window their CPA, broker, and India-side CA all missed.

The situation

Rajesh and Priya are 60 and 58, both senior leaders at enterprise tech firms in New Jersey. After 25 years in the US, they're split in their consideration for retirement between New Jersey and Bengaluru - close to aging parents, slower pace, the house they bought a decade ago. Combined household income lands around $850K a year.

They are doing most of the right things. Both max their 401(k)s. They have a thoughtful CPA who handles their US returns. Their brokerage account gets rebalanced. A family friend's CA in India handles the rental property in Bengaluru. The pieces work - they've just never been viewed together.

The gap we found

The Roth conversion window. Once Rajesh retires at the end of next year, their ordinary income will drop sharply for about five years before required minimum distributions kick in at 73. That five-year valley is one of the highest-leverage planning windows in the US tax code - and nobody had modeled what it could be worth. Their CPA handles the year, not the decade. Their broker doesn't see the tax schedule. The Indian CA doesn't know the US accounts exist.

What we did

We mapped a five-year Roth conversion ladder, moving roughly $200K a year of pre-tax retirement assets into Roth at the 24% bracket - instead of paying 32–35% on those same dollars later as RMDs. The conversions are sized year by year so they don't push the couple into Medicare IRMAA surcharges.

We unwound their concentrated employer stock from $1.4M down to about $300K over 18 months, using strategic selling at vest plus specific lot identification to keep capital gains contained. The proceeds went into a Direct Indexed portfolio that quietly harvests tax losses every year. We also replaced their idle HYSA with a NJ + federal muni bond ladder yielding around 5.4% after-tax - a real improvement for a couple in the top brackets.

On the cross-border side, we confirmed treaty elections, mapped how their NRO/NRE accounts and Bengaluru rental income interact with the US return, and got their FBAR and FATCA filings caught up. Then we redid the estate plan: revocable trust for the US assets, aligned beneficiary designations across every 401(k), IRA, and brokerage account, and a clear handoff to the India-side documents.

The result

$185,000 in projected lifetime tax savings from the Roth ladder vs. doing nothing
Concentrated stock down 78% - $1.4M → $300K - without a tax shock
Effective tax rate fell from 38% to 24% in transition year one
One coordinated estate plan covering assets in two countries

PROJECTED LIFETIME TAX SAVINGS

$185,000

5-year Roth conversion ladder

EFFECTIVE TAX RATE

38% → 24%

Transition year

CONCENTRATED STOCK

$1.4M → $300K

Diversified over 18 months

AFTER-TAX YIELD

~5.4%

NJ + federal muni ladder

Why this worked

None of these strategies is exotic. The insight was the timing, and the willingness to look at the next ten years instead of the next twelve months. A CPA wouldn't run the conversion math because conversions live in planning, not reporting. A broker doesn't see the tax schedule. The CA in India doesn't know the US accounts exist. Alphanso's flat fee meant we had a reason to look at all of it together and the time to model it across a decade.

If you're approaching the same window, retirement on the horizon, a possible move abroad, accounts in more than one country — request a callback and we'll walk through what your version of this plan looks like.

This case study is a composite illustration based on real Alphanso client scenarios. Names and identifying details have been changed for privacy. Results are not guaranteed and will vary based on individual circumstances. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Alphanso LLC is a registered investment adviser.