"Now Is the Perfect Time to Convert Your IRA to a Roth" by Ingrid Case. With coronavirus tanking the stock market, it doesn’t feel like a great time to be an investor. One potentially smart move you can make right now? Convert your IRA to a Roth. Like a traditional individual retirement account, a Roth IRA gives you a tax break to save for retirement. It differs from a traditional IRA in one key respect: taxes. With traditional IRA, you contribute pre-tax dollars.