"The goal isn't to take the minimum distribution — it's to take the maximum control over when and how you pay taxes. The IRS will get their money eventually. The question is whether you control the timing or they do."
— Ed Slott, CPA · America's IRA Expert · irahelp.com
A Required Minimum Distribution is a mandatory annual withdrawal from traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and most other tax-deferred retirement accounts beginning at age 73. The IRS calculates your RMD each year using your prior December 31 account balance divided by a life expectancy factor from the Uniform Lifetime Table. You cannot choose not to take it — and every dollar withdrawn is taxed as ordinary income, potentially pushing you into a higher bracket, triggering IRMAA surcharges, and increasing the taxation of your Social Security benefits.
📅 RMD basics
👥 Inherited IRA rules
Ed Slott's paradigm shift: maximum, not minimum
Most retirees take only their required minimum distribution each year — the smallest amount the IRS forces them to take. Ed Slott argues this is exactly backwards. By taking only the minimum, you allow your traditional IRA to keep growing tax-deferred, which means larger RMDs in future years, higher tax brackets, and a bigger tax bomb for your heirs. The smarter strategy: take more now, in lower-bracket years, through Roth conversions and proactive distributions — so you control the tax rate, not the IRS.
Roth conversions — the permanent RMD eliminator
Converting traditional IRA funds to a Roth IRA permanently removes those assets from RMD calculations. Every dollar converted is a dollar that will never be subject to a future RMD — and will grow tax-free for life. The 2026 window makes this the most urgent strategy on this page.
Read: Roth conversion strategies →Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) — satisfy RMDs tax-free
A QCD allows IRA owners aged 70½ or older to transfer up to $105,000 per year directly from their IRA to a qualified charity. The distribution satisfies your RMD requirement but does not count as taxable income — unlike taking the RMD and then donating. Ed Slott's single most tax-efficient charitable giving tool for IRA owners.
Read: QCDs & NUA strategies →Self-completing Roth — convert without paying out-of-pocket taxes
The self-completing Roth (Version A via IUL, Version B via Bonus FIA) converts your IRA to a Roth without requiring a direct tax payment to the IRS. This removes assets from future RMD calculations while effectively funding the conversion tax through the financial instrument itself.
Read: Self-completing Roth A & B →IUL life insurance — redirect RMDs into a tax-free legacy
Use your RMDs — after paying the tax on them — to fund an Indexed Universal Life policy. The IUL grows tax-deferred, provides tax-free loans in retirement, and passes a tax-free death benefit to heirs. Ed Slott's framework: IRAs are the worst asset to leave in an estate. Convert the tax liability into a legacy asset instead.
Read: IUL — indexed universal life →QLAC — defer RMDs to age 85
A Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract allows you to move up to $200,000 of IRA funds into a deferred income annuity, removing those assets from RMD calculations until income begins — up to age 85. This reduces near-term RMDs while providing guaranteed income late in retirement.
Read: QLAC & deferred income annuities →Bracket management — take more now, pay less later
The years between retirement and age 73 are often the lowest-income years of a retiree's life — before Social Security, before RMDs, and potentially in a lower bracket. Taking proactive distributions or Roth conversions during this window fills bracket headroom at today's lower rates and permanently reduces future RMDs.
Read: Tax bracket management →⚠️ The inherited IRA warning
Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries must fully distribute an inherited IRA within 10 years — and if the original owner had begun RMDs, heirs must take annual distributions in years 1–9. This can push heirs into the highest tax brackets. Ed Slott's solution: convert your IRA to a Roth before death. Heirs inherit tax-free, the 10-year rule still applies, but there is no tax owed on distributions.