Taxes in retirement
Required minimum distributions (RMDs): the basics
What required minimum distributions are, which accounts they apply to, when they start, how the yearly amount is figured, and what happens if one is missed.
5 min read
Topic
Taxes in retirement
Required distributions, how retirement income is taxed, and early-withdrawal rules.
5 articles
Taxes in retirement
Early withdrawals: the 10% additional tax, the "rule of 55" and other exceptions
How the 10% additional tax on retirement withdrawals before age 59½ works, which exceptions apply to workplace plans and which to IRAs, and what the rule of 55 is.
5 min read
Taxes in retirement
How different kinds of retirement income are taxed
A plain-English tour of how federal income tax treats retirement account withdrawals, pensions, annuities, Social Security and investment income in retirement.
5 min read
Taxes in retirement
Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) explained
How IRA owners age 70½ or older can give directly to charity from an IRA, the annual limit for 2026 and 2027, and how a QCD interacts with required distributions.
4 min read
Taxes in retirement
Taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free: the three account "buckets"
How ordinary investment accounts, pre-tax retirement accounts and Roth accounts are each taxed, and why some people hold savings in more than one of the three.
4 min read