RMD Age Is Now 73 (Not 72): The SECURE 2.0 Changes That Still Trip Up Retirees

Three years after SECURE 2.0 took effect, required minimum distribution questions are still among the most-searched retirement topics online. The confusion is predictable: the law moved the starting age, scheduled it to move again in 2033, added exceptions, and left behind a stream of outdated advice that circulates freely. If you're currently between 68 and 75, the rules affect you in ways that aren't always obvious — and the cost of getting it wrong can be tens of thousands in unnecessary taxes.

What SECURE 2.0 Actually Changed

The 2019 SECURE Act moved the RMD age from 70½ to 72. SECURE 2.0 (signed in December 2022) moved it again. The current rule is entirely birth-year dependent:

Birth year	RMD starting age	First RMD due
Before 1951	70½ or 72	Already started
1951–1959	73	Year you turn 73
1960 or later	75	Year you turn 75

If you were born in 1953, you turn 73 in 2026 and owe your first RMD for tax year 2026, due by December 31 of this year (or optionally by April 1, 2027 — more on that trap below).

If you were born in 1960, your first RMD doesn't arrive until 2035. That's two additional years of tax-deferred compounding and, more importantly, two more years of the Roth conversion window that generates the most long-run tax savings.

The age-72 rule did briefly apply — but only to people born in 1950. If you were born in 1951 or later, you never had a 72 obligation. A lot of still-circulating guidance gets this wrong.

How the RMD Is Calculated

The formula is simple: divide your prior December 31 account balance by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for your age that year.

RMD = Dec 31 balance ÷ age divisor

The divisors decrease with age, pushing out larger mandatory withdrawals over time. Current 2022 Uniform Lifetime Table values:

Age	Divisor	RMD on an $800,000 balance
73	26.5	$30,189
74	25.5	$31,373
75	24.6	$32,520
76	23.7	$33,755
80	20.2	$39,604

Consider a hypothetical retiree who turns 73 in 2026 with an $800,000 traditional IRA balance as of December 31, 2025. Their 2026 RMD is $30,189. At a 22% marginal rate, that's $6,640 in federal tax on a distribution they did not choose to take. At 80, the same account (if grown to $1 million by then) would force out roughly $49,500 per year.

Each account with RMD obligations gets its own calculation. Traditional IRAs can be aggregated — you calculate the total owed across all your IRAs and withdraw it from any one or spread it across them. 401(k)s cannot be aggregated; each plan must satisfy its own RMD separately.

Four Traps That Still Catch People

1. The April 1 delay doubles up on income

For your first RMD only, the IRS allows deferral until April 1 of the following year. Sound helpful? The catch: if you delay, you must take two RMDs in the delay year — the prior year's distribution by April 1, and the current year's by December 31.

Two large traditional IRA withdrawals stacked in one calendar year can push you into a higher bracket, trigger the Social Security tax torpedo, and — critically — land you in a higher IRMAA tier for Medicare Part B two years later. Most retirees who model this take the first RMD in the turning-73 year and skip the deferral entirely.

2. The still-working exception is narrower than it looks

If you're still employed past 73, you can defer RMDs from your current employer's 401(k) until April 1 of the year after you retire — but only if the plan allows it (most do) and you own less than 5% of the company.

The exception does not apply to traditional IRAs. RMDs from an IRA kick in at 73 regardless of whether you're working. Old 401(k)s from prior employers also owe RMDs; the exception is strictly for the plan tied to your current job.

3. Roth accounts are different — and the 2024 change matters

Roth IRAs have never had RMD requirements for the original owner. As of January 1, 2024, SECURE 2.0 aligned Roth 401(k)s and Roth 403(b)s with that treatment: no RMDs during your lifetime. If you've been making Roth 401(k) contributions for years, that balance is now fully under your control — no forced distributions, ever, while you're alive.

Inherited Roth accounts are a separate story; non-spouse beneficiaries generally must deplete them within 10 years under post-2019 rules.

4. The penalty is lower now, but not low enough to be casual about

Before SECURE 2.0, missing an RMD triggered a 50% penalty on the shortfall — one of the most punishing in the tax code. SECURE 2.0 cut it to 25%, and to just 10% if you correct the error within two years. That's meaningful relief if you make a mistake. It is not a reason to be casual about deadlines.

The Window Before Your RMDs: Why It Matters More Than the RMDs Themselves

The real financial significance of the SECURE 2.0 timeline isn't the delay — it's the opportunity that gap creates. If you retire at 62 or 65, you typically have years before Social Security at 70 and more years before RMDs at 73. That period — often roughly ages 62 to 72 — is usually your lowest income, lowest tax bracket window of retirement.

Every dollar you convert from a traditional IRA to Roth in those years:

• Shrinks the future balance subject to mandatory distributions
• Gets converted at 10–22% now, rather than the 24–32%+ that RMDs can force when a large traditional account compounds untouched for another decade
• Reduces future IRMAA exposure by keeping the converted amount out of the gross income that determines Medicare Part B surcharges

The math is not subtle. A hypothetical retiree converting $50,000 per year for eight years between 64 and 72 — filling the 22% bracket — reduces their age-73 traditional IRA balance by $400,000 plus avoided compounding. At the Uniform Lifetime Table divisor of 26.5, that's roughly $15,000 per year less in forced RMD income. Permanently. For as long as they live.

Our Roth conversion calculator lets you model this conversion-by-conversion, with current-year taxes, bracket impacts, and long-run traditional vs. Roth balances compared side by side.

A Quick Guide by Where You Are Today

Born 1951–1952: RMDs started for you in 2024–2025 under the age-73 rule. If you deferred the first one to April 1 of this year (2026), confirm you've taken both this year's and last year's distribution.

Born 1953–1954: Your first RMD is due in 2026 or was due in 2027. Don't confuse the April 1 option with "I can skip this year."

Born 1955–1959: You have 2–6 years before RMDs begin. The conversion window is wide open. Granary models your full drawdown picture — Roth conversions, Social Security timing, IRMAA brackets, and RMD projections together, not in silos. Our when-can-I-retire calculator shows how first-RMD year income interacts with your overall plan.

Born 1960 or later: You start at 75. You have the longest conversion window of anyone in the SECURE 2.0 transition generation. The extra years compound in your favor if you use them.

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This post is planning education, not tax advice. RMD rules interact with your account types, plan documents, marital status, and overall income in ways that benefit from a conversation with a fee-only CPA or financial planner before you act.