Questions About Consolidating IRA Accounts

Sometime within the next 1 - 9 months, I will be retiring from my job with the Federal Govt. I presently have 2 Roth IRA accounts and 8 non-Roth IRA accounts. All are mutual funds. Most are with either Vanguard, T Rowe Price, or Janus.

I would like to consolidate these accounts into three accounts at most (1 Roth and 2 non-Roth), and I know that I can't combine Roth with non-Roth, unless I do a conversion. I probably won't need to withdraw any IRA funds for at least 5 years (very possibly more), because I'll be receiving a solid pension and I also have a 401(k) (Thrift Savings Plan) and regular savings to tap into, if need be.

I'm interested in putting the IRA funds into "lifetime" funds (I think that's what they're called....), where the asset allocation is automatically updated, depending upon the "maturity" date of the fund. I'm looking for recommendations on whether to go with Vanguard or T Rowe Price. Also, what time frame should I select? (I'll turn 55 later this year, single with no dependents). 2010 seems too short a time frame, while 2020 may be too long.

Any help with making these decisions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

To address your first question, you can easily merge your IRAs and Roths. Why pay $10-$35 in annual account fees TEN times when you can pay it twice (1 IRA & 1 Roth)? You also receive alot of statements and god forbid you get into RMD territory. No need to complicate the math like that. Just rollover the IRAs into one account and the Roths into one account.

You might even be able to take advantage of the IRA conversion to convert some or all of your IRA funds into Roth. This may be advantageous now that you are close to retirement and have a better idea of your future tax scenario, maybe not. If your ample pension and upcoming Social security provide a decent income base, you may not be in a low tax bracket during retirement. This is compounded by the fact that we tend to lose our deductions as we age (mortgage interest, dependents, etc). Having more Roth funds as opposed to IRA funds may be advantageous for you.