Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)
A required minimum distribution is the amount the IRS forces you to withdraw each year from tax-deferred retirement accounts — traditional IRAs and 401(k)s — starting at age 73. Because that money was never taxed, the government eventually makes you take it out and pay income tax on it.
The starting age is 73, rising to 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later. The amount is the prior year's closing balance divided by an IRS life-expectancy factor: at 73 the divisor is 26.5, so a $500,000 traditional IRA requires about $18,900 that year — roughly 3.8%, a share that rises every year as the divisor shrinks. The penalty for missing one is severe: 25% of the shortfall, reduced to 10% if you correct it promptly. Roth IRAs carry no lifetime RMDs, which is why retirees with low-income years often convert traditional balances to Roth beforehand, shrinking the forced withdrawals and the tax on Social Security that they can trigger.
Put it to work
Traditional IRA Calculator
Project your traditional IRA at retirement, see this year's tax deduction, and estimate the tax you'll owe on withdrawals. Uses the 2026 limit of $7,500.
401(k) Calculator
Project your 401(k) balance at retirement — including the employer match — and check your contributions against the 2026 IRS limit of $24,500.
Retirement Calculator
Project your retirement savings: what your balance could reach by retirement age and the monthly income it could sustainably provide.