The birth-year chart
The IRS ties your RMD starting age to when you were born. The table below comes from the IRS data used across its RMD FAQs:
| Birth date | RMDs begin at |
|---|---|
| Before July 1, 1949 | 70 1/2 |
| July 1, 1949 through December 31, 1950 | 72 |
| January 1, 1951 through December 31, 1959 | 73 |
| January 1, 1960 or later | 75 |
Worked example: your first RMD at 73
The following is a hypothetical illustration with round numbers. Your own factor comes from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table based on your age.
$800,000 ÷ 26.5 = $30,188.68.
That is your 2026 RMD. You must take it by December 31, 2026, or use the one-time extension to April 1, 2027. (Taking the extension means your 2027 RMD is also due that year, so most people take the first one in the first year. See our first-RMD April 1 deadline guide.)
For someone born in 1962, the same $800,000 balance would first matter at 75, where the factor is 24.6. The two extra years of compounding are real, but so is the bigger eventual RMD, since the factor shrinks as you age.
What the starting age does not change
- IRAs always follow the age. Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA owners must begin RMDs at their starting age even if still employed. The still-working exception never covers IRAs. See the still-working exception guide.
- Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs. Neither the 73 nor the 75 age applies to your own Roth IRA. Since 2024, SECURE 2.0 also removed pre-death RMDs from designated Roth accounts in 401(k) and 403(b) plans while the owner is alive. Beneficiaries of Roth accounts are still subject to RMD rules: see inherited Roth IRA rules.
- Already taking RMDs? Nothing changes. The new ages apply only to people who had not yet reached the prior starting age when each change took effect. Nobody gets to pause RMDs they already started.
- The 5% owner rule still bites. If you own more than 5% of the business sponsoring your plan, you cannot use the still-working delay; your RMDs start at your required beginning age regardless of employment.
Sources
- Thrift Savings Plan, SECURE 2.0 and the TSP (RMD age increases, Section 107)
- The Motley Fool, 2 Required Minimum Distribution Rule Changes Retirees Need to Know (birth-date chart, data source: IRS)
- IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
- IRS Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs (birth-year starting ages; Roth account treatment)
Frequently asked questions
Is the RMD age 73 or 75?
Born 1951 to 1959: 73. Born 1960 or later: 75. Born 1950 or earlier: you are under the older rules (72, or 70 1/2 if born before July 1, 1949).
What was the RMD age before SECURE 2.0?
70 1/2 before 2020, then 72 under the original SECURE Act, then 73 under SECURE 2.0 starting in 2023, with 75 coming in 2033.
If I already started taking RMDs at 72, do I get to stop until 73?
No. Each increase applies only to people who had not yet reached the old starting age. If you already started, you continue.
Does the RMD starting age apply to Roth accounts?
No lifetime RMDs for Roth IRAs, and since 2024 none for designated Roth 401(k)/403(b) accounts while the owner is alive. Roth beneficiaries still have RMD rules.
When is my first RMD due?
By April 1 of the year after the year you reach your starting age. Using the extension means two distributions land in one calendar year.
Does the still-working exception change my RMD starting age?
It can delay RMDs from your current employer's plan, never from IRAs. Your IRA starting age applies even if you keep working.
Get a one-time personalized RMD review
The starting-age rules changed three times in a decade, and most of the advice online is stale. We are validating a paid one-time report before building it: a personalized RMD review document generated from your inputs for $79, planned and not on sale yet. Joining the waitlist tells us this is worth building; it commits you to nothing.