The IRS forces withdrawals from pre-tax accounts starting at 73 or 75 — whether you need the money or not. See your future required minimum distributions coming, year by year.
Traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), SEP — anything pre-tax.
First RMD (age 75)
$73,066
Peak RMD (age 95)
$167,355
Total forced withdrawals
$2,553,502
Bars: forced withdrawal that year. Line: balance left after it.
• Roth conversions in your 60s: pay tax now at (hopefully) lower rates, shrink the pre-tax balance the IRS divides later. Our Roth conversion analyzer (coming in this release) models the trade-off.
• Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs): at 70½+ you can send up to $111,000/yr (2026, indexed) straight to charity — counts toward your RMD but never hits your taxable income.
• Still working: if you're employed at 73+ and don't own 5%+ of the company, your current 401(k) can delay RMDs until you retire.
Simplification: the IRS divides your prior year-end balance; this tool uses start-of-year balance, which is equivalent in a smooth-growth model.
