I am retired, and there is no way I could pay the tax were I to convert my entire IRA into my Roth-IRA. When the Roth-IRA first came out, I converted a large amount, but in that year I got the benefit of distributing the tax over a four-year period.


Well, should you choose to convert this year you do get to spread the tax over 2 years.
http://consumerboomer.com/roth-ira-conversion-tax-rules/



One thing to watch out for is the tax beating you will take right now if you convert.

Well - "beating" may be a strong overstatement for some people.
I'll have fairly small tax amount due (I have a non-deduc. trad. IRA that hasn't grown much)

so you can pass it along to your heirs if you want.
Interesting thought...
Hopefully that time is a long way off. :)