It's never too late for revenge.

	Here are four reasons retirees may want to convert their regular IRA to a Roth IRA. If you are in a low tax bracket, the income-tax bill will be modest. You get tax-free growth thereafter. No distributions are required during your lifetime. If you convert to a Roth and pay the necessary taxes, you will shrink your taxable estate -- and you'll be able to bequeath a pool of income-tax- free money to your heirs.

If you are a working stiff, the April 15 tax-filing deadline makes one thing painfully clear: You are pretty much tax toast. Sure, you can take advantage of tax-deferred accounts and make the most of available credits and deductions. But if you have a healthy income, you are basically at Uncle Sam's mercy.

All that changes once you quit the work force. Suddenly, you have a heap of control over your annual income -- and the chance to have a little fun at the taxman's expense. Here's how to make the most of your no-earnings years.

Crying uncle. With any luck, you will retire with a hunk of money in both your retirement accounts and your taxable accounts. But unloading these investments will trigger vastly different tax bills.

If you have a Roth individual retirement account, or if you hold bonds and money-market funds in a taxable account, selling will cost little or nothing in taxes. Dumping winning stocks in your taxable accounts will be a tad more painful, with your long-term capital gains dunned at a maximum 15 percent.

The big hit, however, will be levied on your 401(k) and regular IRA. Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, which can mean paying as much as 35 percent to Uncle Sam. Indeed, if you aren't careful, you could get hosed on taxes during retirement, just like you were during your working years.

What to do? Pittsburgh estate-planning attorney and accountant James Lange says the best strategy is to spend down your taxable accounts first, while leaving your retirement accounts to grow tax-deferred for as long as possible. But there is an intriguing exception to this rule.

Let's say you retire at age 62. At some point in the next eight years, you will want to start taking your monthly Social Security benefit. Up to 85 percent of that money could be taxable. Similarly, after age 70 1/2, you will have to begin minimum distributions from your retirement accounts, and that will also boost your taxable income. Put it together, and it looks like Uncle Sam has you on the ropes.

You will, however, have a little time before you start Social Security and before required minimum distributions kick in. During those years, the stocks and bonds in your taxable accounts will generate dividends and interest, and you may also receive a company pension. But beyond that, how much taxable income you have is at your discretion.

Manipulating income. Want to turn this to your advantage? Suppose that, once you are in your 70s, you will likely be taxed at 25 percent or more, thanks to Social Security and required retirement-account distributions.

To soften that blow, you might tap your IRA and 401(k) even earlier. My advice: While in your 60s, withdraw enough from your retirement accounts each year so that _ when these sums are combined with your other income _ you get to the top of the 15 percent federal income-tax bracket, but no further. That will allow you to shrink your IRA and 401(k), reducing the amount that might get dunned at 25 percent later on.

If you are married filing jointly and take the standard deduction, you could have gross income of as much as $75,800 in 2005 and still be in the 15 percent bracket. Meanwhile, if you are single, the figure would be $37,900. If you are age 65 or older, both amounts would be modestly higher, because you qualify for a larger standard deduction.

You could, of course, spend these withdrawals. But if you don't need the cash, you might instead convert small chunks of your IRA to a Roth IRA each year. Once the money is in a Roth, it will grow tax-free and it won't be governed by the minimum-distribution rules that affect 401(k)s and regular IRAs.

Indeed, if you want to make your kids happy, you will leave your Roth untouched and instead bequeath the account to them. Your children would be subject to minimum-distribution rules. Still, they could spread their Roth withdrawals over their lifetime, giving them years of tax-free growth. "The Roth is the best asset you can inherit," Mr. Lange argues.

A Roth conversion makes most sense if you can pay the resulting tax bill with taxable-account money. If you have to dip into your IRA to pay the conversion tax, you can still come out ahead, Mr. Lange says. But the case isn't as strong, so you should probably convert only if you are anxious to avoid minimum-distribution rules during your lifetime or, alternatively, if you are sure that whoever empties the Roth _ whether it's you or your heirs _ will be in a higher tax bracket than you are today.

As you gauge how much income to generate in your 60s, don't forget about Social Security. As a rule, you should take reduced Social Security benefits at age 62 if you don't expect to live beyond your early 80s. Meanwhile, those with a better family health history might delay benefits until their full Social Security retirement age, thereby garnering a larger monthly check.

If you were the family's main breadwinner, also factor in your spouse's life expectancy. The reason: If your spouse outlives you, his or her survivor's benefit will hinge on the size of your monthly check.

How does this figure into the strategy described above? Starting Social Security will potentially boost your taxable income. At that juncture, you might want to curtail your annual IRA withdrawal so you don't push yourself into the 25 percent bracket.