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In addition to traditional IRAs, simplified employee pension (SEP) IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs are subject to the RMD rules.

You can always withdraw more than you are required to from your IRAs and retirement plans.

Remember, you have the option of delaying your first distribution until April 1 following the calendar year in which you reach age 70½ (or April 1 following the calendar year in which you retire, in some cases).

RMDs are calculated by dividing your traditional IRA or retirement plan account balance by a life expectancy factor specified in IRS tables. Your account balance is usually calculated as of December 31 of the year preceding the calendar year for which the distribution is required to be made.

Your first required distribution from an IRA or retirement plan is for the year you reach age 70½. However, you have some flexibility as to when you actually have to take this first-year distribution. You can take it during the year you reach age 70½, or you can delay it until April 1 of the following year.

Required minimum distributions, often referred to as RMDs or minimum required distributions, are amounts that the federal government requires you to withdraw annually from traditional IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans after you reach age 70½ (or, in some cases, after you retire).

You are 45 years old and it dawns on you that your college days are looking further and further in your review view mirror and you can see the exit sign for retirement not too far down the road. As you sit down at your kitchen table to really assess your overall financial situation, you begin to ponder the life and financial mistakes you have made. You wonder to yourself, “Should I even bother trying to save? Is it too late for me begin saving for retirement?”

Many people in the United States are missing out on one of the best retirement opportunities of opening up an IRA account. Here are five myths that we can clear up so you can better understand how these powerful retirement vehicles can work for you.

You may have been planning for your retirement ever since you started working, or you may just be starting to seriously look at it. But without a doubt, you are looking forward to those years. And we want you to enjoy them without worrying unduly or running into problems.

Your purchase of an annuity contract with the funds in your IRA or retirement plan satisfies the RMD rules if all of the following are true: