Overview
- Congress left Required Minimum Distribution rules unchanged on June 6, 2026, so SECURE 2.0’s start-age schedule remains in force for retirees.
- SECURE 2.0 requires most people who turn 73 in 2026 to begin RMDs this year and allows a first withdrawal delay to April 1, 2027, which can force two taxable distributions in 2027.
- RMDs are calculated by dividing an account’s Dec. 31 prior-year balance by an IRS life-expectancy factor from Publication 590-B, so larger balances create large first-year withdrawals.
- Those forced distributions can raise marginal tax rates and trigger Medicare IRMAA and state taxes — for example, a $1.5 million traditional balance produces a roughly $56,600 first RMD and smaller accounts can still push Social Security into taxable income and boost effective rates toward 40%.
- The CRS and reporters note penalties apply for missed RMDs and point to planning tools such as earlier Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions, and residency moves as ways to reduce future RMD tax impact, while reminding readers that Roth IRAs are exempt from RMDs and about 3 million Americans born in 1953 face these choices now.