Smart Strategies for Taking Required Minimum Distributions

Retirees who forget annual 401(k) and IRA withdrawals face huge penalties

March 5, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Convert to a Roth. There are no minimum distribution requirements for Roth IRAs. Workers already paid income taxes on Roth IRA contributions, and the money can be withdrawn as you need it or can be passed on to heirs. "Once you have a Roth, then you don't have to worry about distributions," says Hutmacher. Having both Roth and traditional retirement accounts can add tax diversification and flexibility to your retirement draw-down strategy.

Tags:: retirement

Reader Comments Read all comments (4)

Add Your Thoughts Comment Name State Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

"Avoid two distributions in the same year. Retirees who delay their first retirement account withdrawal until April 1 will need to take two distributions in the same year because the second distribution will be due December 31. Withdrawals from 401(k)s and IRAs are taxed as income, and two withdrawals in the same year could significantly increase your income tax bill. "Take a look at what your taxable income is going to be and determine whether or not two distributions are going to kick you into a higher tax bracket," says Richard Donahue, a certified financial planner for Asset Advisors in Bellingham, Wash."
THERE'S NO WAY AROUND IT...ALL THE "LOOKING" YOU DO WON'T STOP IT FROM HAPPENING...YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE & PAY TAX ON 2 DISTRIBUTIONS IF YOUR BIRTHDATE IS IN THE LAT 6 MONTHS OF THE PREVIOS YEAR """PERIOD""".
Somebody out there give me a way out !!!!

bob arruba of NY 9:44AM March 29, 2013

Out of curiosity and the want to secure my retirement life, I was wondering what is the minimum age to start a 401k? I am 14 years old and I want to start investing in my future. From several articles I have read you can start either a solo 401k or one with your company. So being a teenager with an unsteady income and obviously not a dependable as well as reliable job that offers a 401k plan, is it still possible to start a 401k on this early on in my life?

Abbigail of FL 12:13AM March 16, 2013

One more thought to keep in mind - although the government requires you to take money out of tax qualified plans through the Required minimum distribution payments, they DO NOT require you to spend it! You can always take the withdrawn amounts in invest them in an after tax brokerage account, perhaps in a similar type of investment that was held in the tax qualified plan. You will still have to pay the tax on the required withdrawal, but you will be able to keep holding on to what's left.

John Bevacqua of NY 9:55AM April 18, 2012