Yes, in theory the taxpayer can put money in a traditional IRA each year and then convert it to a Roth IRA later. This is a loophole that was created in 2010. The catch here though, is if the taxpayer has deductible IRAs also, the conversion is subject to a "pro rata rule" which accounts for all IRA assets. This could be very costly, especially for people who may have rolled over a 401(k) into an IRA. Here is a link to a great recent article that describes this process well. I suspect that this loophole may be closed in the future. Good luck.
http://money.msn.com/tax-tips/post.aspx?post=ee461fa2-ed10-4270-9e1e-c24057a6d5a9