Required minimum distributions are not a general rule for every retirement account, but they remain a live obligation for many traditional-account owners after the starting age. The IRS says traditional IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and many workplace plans are generally subject to annual withdrawals beginning at age 73. Account type, employment status, ownership, and beneficiary status can change the details.
Traditional accounts sit inside the annual distribution rule
The IRS’s current RMD FAQ defines required minimum distributions as minimum annual amounts that must be withdrawn from covered retirement accounts. It says owners of traditional IRA, SEP IRA, and SIMPLE IRA accounts generally begin once the account holder reaches age 73, even if that person is retired. Employer-plan participants may be able to delay distributions until retirement in some cases, unless they are five-percent owners of the sponsoring business.
The word “minimum” matters. The FAQ says an account owner can withdraw more than the required amount, but an excess withdrawal for one year cannot simply be applied to a later year’s requirement. The IRS also says the amount is generally calculated using the prior December 31 account balance and a published life-expectancy factor.
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Roth accounts follow a different owner-lifetime rule
Traditional-account rules should not be generalized to every Roth account. The IRS says RMDs do not apply to Roth IRAs or designated Roth accounts while the owner is alive, although beneficiaries can be subject to distribution rules. That contrast is one reason a retirement household needs to identify the exact account before treating an annual withdrawal rule as settled.
The agency also distinguishes among account types when an owner has more than one plan. IRA owners must calculate an RMD separately for each IRA, though the total can generally be withdrawn from one or more IRAs. The FAQ says RMDs from plans such as 401(k)s and 457(b)s must be taken separately from each plan account.
The first-year timing does not erase the next year’s obligation
The IRS allows a first RMD to be delayed until April 1 of the following year in the year an owner reaches 73. But the agency’s example shows why timing needs care: a delayed first withdrawal can sit close to the next annual distribution deadline. The FAQ uses a 2024 example in which an owner’s first RMD is due by April 1, 2025, and the second by December 31, 2025.
That example is not a substitute for an individual calculation. It demonstrates the calendar mechanics behind the phrase “required minimum.” The starting year, the account balance, the applicable life-expectancy table, and the account category are all part of the federal rule set the IRS describes.
Plans can have rules that differ from an IRA
The IRS FAQ covers employer-sponsored plans as well as IRAs, including profit-sharing plans, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457(b)s. It also notes a narrow special rule for separately accounted pre-1987 403(b) contributions. The point is not that every exception applies to every retirement saver; it is that the account label matters. A traditional IRA’s annual distribution mechanics cannot automatically be carried across to a workplace plan, an inherited account, or a Roth account.
That account-by-account approach extends to responsibility. The IRS says a custodian or plan administrator may calculate an RMD, but the account owner remains responsible for taking the correct amount on time. A year-end statement, an administrator calculation, and the agency’s tables can inform the process, yet the federal rule keeps responsibility with the owner. That is why the official FAQ distinguishes calculations, withdrawal sources, and plan types instead of presenting one universal withdrawal rule.
Failure to withdraw can bring an excise tax
The current FAQ says an amount not withdrawn by the deadline may be subject to a 25 percent excise tax, reduced to 10 percent when timely corrected within two years. The IRS notes that Form 5329 is used with the federal return for a missed required amount, and that waiver relief may be available when a shortfall resulted from reasonable error and corrective steps are being taken.
The IRS page is explicit that custodians or plan administrators may calculate an RMD, while the account owner remains responsible for taking the correct amount on time. Its FAQs, worksheets, and Publication 590-B links provide the source-led framework for checking a traditional retirement account’s distribution obligations.
Retirement-account rules that require separate attention
This article concerns required minimum distributions, while older households also encounter benefit programs that operate under separate rules. SSI after 65, SNAP food benefits, and state drug-cost help are examples of programs that use their own state or federal eligibility standards.
Over 69 pages, it maps 11 programs and includes state phone contacts, a printable tracker, and 2026 income limits.
Read The Benefits Checklist.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
