RMD Age: When Do Required Minimum Distributions Start? 

Most people spend decades saving. Then a quieter question arrives: when does the government make me start taking the money out? The age changed twice recently, so advice from an older article may be wrong for you. This guide gives the current answer, explains what is settled and what is not, and shows why knowing your age is only step one. 

Quick answer 

Your RMD age is 73 if you were born from 1951 through 1958, and also for 1959 under IRS proposed regulations. It is 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. Your first required minimum distribution is due by April 1 of the year after you reach that age. Later ones are due each December 31. 

What Is the RMD Age in 2026? 

A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the least you must withdraw each year from most tax-deferred retirement accounts. The IRS says you generally must start at age 73. SECURE 2.0 raises the age to 75 for younger savers. Find your birth date below. 

RMD age by birth date. 1959 reflects IRS proposed regulations. 

You may see “75 starting in 2033.” That shorthand misleads. Age 75 applies only to people born in 1960 or later, and the first of them reach 75 in 2035. Your age counts as of your birthday in that calendar year. 

Why Does Your RMD Age Depend on Your Birth Year?

Congress keeps moving the starting line. It was 70½ for years. A 2019 law moved it to 72. SECURE 2.0 then set 73 for people who turn 72 after 2022, and 75 for people who turn 74 after 2032. Lawmakers wanted savings to stay tax-deferred longer as people live longer. 

People born in 1959 turn 73 in 2032 and 74 in 2033, so the statute’s wording appears to cover them twice. Congressional Research Service analysts flagged the overlap. The 2024 IRS proposed regulations treat 1959 as age 73. 

Statute, proposed rules, final rules: what is the difference? 

Statute is the law Congress passed. Proposed regulations show how the IRS plans to interpret it, but they are not final. Final regulations are binding rules. The 2024 final regulations did not settle 1959; that question sits in the proposed set. Announcement 2026-7 delays parts of the final rules (§§ 1.401(a)(9)-4, -5 and -6) until at least six months after they are published, and tells taxpayers to use a reasonable, good-faith reading of the statute in the meantime. So 73 is the best working answer for 1959, not a final determination. Confirm with a tax professional. 

One more lag: IRS Publication 590-B (2025) still lists only age 73. No one reaches 75 until 2035, so the IRS has not updated it yet. 

When Is Your First RMD Due, and What Is the Double-RMD Trap? 

You can take your first RMD in the year you reach your RMD age, or wait until April 1 of the next year. Waiting has a catch: you then owe two RMDs in one tax year, the delayed one by April 1 and that year’s regular one by December 31. 

Say you turn 73 in 2026, with $500,000 in your IRA at the end of 2025 and $520,000 at the end of 2026. Your 2026 RMD is $500,000 ÷ 26.5 = $18,868. Your 2027 RMD is $520,000 ÷ 25.5 = $20,392. Waiting until April 2027 means about $39,260 in required distributions in one tax year. That is not necessarily all taxable income, because basis, qualified charitable distributions and other factors can change the result. Actual tax depends on the account and your situation. 

Illustration of the example above: delaying stacks two required distributions into one tax year. 

How Big Will Your RMD Be? 

Divide your account balance on December 31 of last year by a life-expectancy number from the IRS. For most owners it comes from the Uniform Lifetime Table. The divisor shrinks as you age, so the share you must withdraw grows. 

The required share rises every year because the IRS divisor shrinks. 

A different table applies if your spouse is your only beneficiary and is more than 10 years younger. 

Do RMDs Apply If You Are Still Working? 

The April 1 extension for your first RMD applies broadly. The “still working” exception does not. IRAs have no still-working exception, so RMDs start at your RMD age even if you have a job. Some employer plans may let you wait until you retire, but only if the plan allows it and you do not own more than 5% of the company. Plan terms govern. 

Why Retirement Planning Doesn’t Stop When You Stop Working 

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2024 Spending in Retirement study surveyed 3,661 retirees ages 62 to 75. IRAs were an income source for just 20% of them, and the median IRA share of their income was 10%. About 38% described themselves as having a “savings mindset,” and fewer expected to spend down a significant portion of their assets than in 2020. 

This is not about missed RMDs. Most of these retirees are at or below the RMD age. It does show a shift many people underestimate. For decades the goal is to accumulate. In retirement the job becomes using the assets. Many retirees have no withdrawal plan until the law forces one. If your first RMD is the first dollar you draw, it arrives on the IRS’s schedule, not yours. Planning early lets you choose what to draw, from which account and when.

Why Do Multiple Retirement Accounts Make RMDs Harder? 

Knowing your RMD age is only step one. Rules differ by account type. IRAs can be combined: you calculate each, then take the total from any of them. Most employer plans cannot. Each 401(k) must be satisfied from itself, though 403(b) accounts can be combined with each other. 

Example: Dana turns 73 in 2026. At the end of 2025 she held two IRAs ($200,000 and $100,000), an old 401(k) ($150,000) and a Roth IRA ($50,000). With a divisor of 26.5, her IRAs need $11,321 combined and her 401(k) needs $5,660. The Roth needs nothing. Her total is $16,981. 

Account-specific rules decide where each withdrawal can come from. 

If Dana withdrew $17,000 entirely from her IRAs, she would still have missed her 401(k) RMD. See what a missed RMD costs. 

Why Does Your RMD Age Matter for Taxes and Medicare? 

RMDs can raise your taxable income. They are not automatically fully taxable, since basis, qualified charitable distributions and other exceptions apply. But higher income can push you into a higher bracket, increase the share of Social Security benefits that are taxed (up to 85%), and raise Medicare premiums. 

Medicare adds a surcharge, called IRMAA, above set income lines. In 2026 the first line is $109,000 for singles and $218,000 for joint filers. Crossing it adds $81.20 a month to Part B (about $974 a year), plus $14.50 a month for Part D, added to your own drug plan’s premium. Crossing a line triggers a higher premium tier. It does not tax all your income at a higher rate. 

There is a timing twist. Medicare generally uses your tax return from two years earlier. A 2026 distribution can raise your 2028 premiums. 

Two levers exist. You cannot roll over or convert an RMD itself to a Roth IRA, but you can convert other eligible assets, after the RMD is satisfied. And qualified charitable distributions, when requirements are met, can count toward your RMD. Both depend on your situation, so ask a tax professional. 

What If Your Retirement Portfolio Includes Alternative Assets? 

Physical precious metals, real estate and cryptocurrency can sit inside a self-directed IRA. They do not remove the RMD. Your custodian reports a fair market value as of year-end, and that value drives the calculation. 

Valuation and liquidity differ by asset. Metals usually track market prices. Real estate may need an appraisal. Crypto prices can move sharply. Illiquid assets can make the cash side harder. You may sell an asset to raise cash, or, if your custodian allows it, take an eligible in-kind distribution. Procedures vary by custodian and asset, so coordinate early. Our guide to RMDs from a self-directed IRA covers this in depth. 

Your RMD Age Checklist 

1. Find your birth date in the table and note your RMD age. 

2. List every account, its type and its rules: IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s and Roth accounts. 

3. Gather each balance from December 31 of last year. 

4. Estimate your first withdrawal in the RMD calculator. 

5. Consider tax and Medicare effects, and whether to take your first RMD early. 

6. If you hold assets slow to value or sell, talk to your custodian now. 

Know Your Date, Then Know Your Number 

Your RMD age is step one. Estimating the actual withdrawal is next. Open the Retired.com RMD calculator to see your first number and plan around it. This article is educational and is not tax or legal advice. 

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