maronti, EDIT: IF you already have a ROTH acco

maronti,

EDIT: IF you already have a ROTH account, distribute from the IRA and contribute to the ROTH.

Yes, it looks like if you do not already have a ROTH account, you would have to wait 5 years.

You could put part of your shares in a ROTH account and keep enough in your Traditional IRA to live on until the 5 years is up.

If you (or anyone else) are lucky enough to already have a ROTH account from your working years, the 5 year wait is probably already over. The 5 year rule is 5 years from when you made the first contribution to the ROTH account, not every time you add more to it.

And, for the younger folks, it looks like you need to wait until you are 59 and a half to begin taking money out of your ROTH account.

I am NOT a tax advisor or CPA (or anything else for that matter) -- check with the your tax advisor and the IRS documents.

Best of luck.