Tax Planning · 7 min read
The Window Before Required Withdrawals
Required withdrawals from traditional IRAs and 401(k)s begin at 73, or 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Between the last paycheck and that birthday, wages have stopped, withdrawals are not yet required, and Social Security can wait until 70, so much of a household’s taxable income is chosen, not imposed. Four decisions live in that window: which account to draw from and whether to convert part of it, when to give, when to realize gains, and when each spouse claims Social Security. Medicare premiums, a survivor’s single brackets, and marketplace coverage before 65 change all four. We treat those years as one plan, revisited every year.
For most of a working life, taxable income is set by an employer. Then the paycheck stops, and for a span of years the arithmetic reverses. That span is the window, and many households let it close unused.
The window: what changes at 73, and at 75
The law sets an “applicable age” at which withdrawals from traditional IRAs and workplace plans become mandatory. (26 U.S.C. §401(a)(9)(C)(v)) Treasury’s final regulations translate that into birth years, under section 107 of the SECURE 2.0 Act: 73 for anyone born from 1951 through 1958, and 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later. (T.D. 10001, IRB 2024-33; IRS Notice 2023-23)
The first withdrawal is due the year the owner reaches that age. (IRS RMD FAQs) It is the prior year-end balance divided by an IRS life-expectancy factor, 26.5 at age 73, so a $1,000,000 balance produces about $37,700 of taxable income the first year, needed or not. (IRS Publication 590-B, Table III) After that boundary, part of each year’s income is imposed by formula; before it, the same dollars move on the household’s own schedule.
Why these years carry more say than most
Three things are true at once in these years: wages have stopped, withdrawals from pre-tax accounts are voluntary, and a Social Security benefit can still grow until 70, earning two-thirds of one percent more for each month past full retirement age. (20 CFR §404.313)
When all three hold, the taxable-income line on the return is close to blank, and the household decides what fills it. The 2026 brackets for a married couple filing jointly show what that choice is measured against. (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, §4.01 and §4.14)
| 2026, married filing jointly | Taxable income | Ordinary income, after the $32,200 standard deduction |
|---|---|---|
| 10% rate ends | $24,800 | about $57,000 |
| 12% rate ends | $100,800 | about $133,000 |
| 22% rate ends | $211,400 | about $243,600 |
| 24% rate ends | $403,550 | about $435,750 |
A couple with no wages and no benefits yet can move roughly $133,000 from a pre-tax account and pay no more than 12% on it. The same $133,000 taken at 74, atop a required withdrawal and two Social Security benefits, lands in higher brackets. The dollars are identical. The years are not.
The four levers, as decisions
Which account to draw from, and whether to convert
Taking spending money from the traditional IRA, up to a chosen bracket line, shrinks the balance that will later be divided by 26.5. A Roth conversion is the same decision in another form: the amount moves rather than spends, and those dollars leave the required-withdrawal formula for good. The question is not whether to convert, but how far up the table to go this year.
When to give
From age 70½, an IRA owner can send money directly to a charity as a qualified charitable distribution: excluded from income, and once required withdrawals begin, counted toward them. The 2026 limit is $111,000 per person. (IRS Publication 590-B; IRS Notice 2025-67) For a household that gives anyway, the decision is which account the gift comes from.
When to realize gains
Long-term gains in a taxable account are taxed at 0% while a joint return’s taxable income stays at or below $98,900 in 2026, or $49,450 single. (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, §4.03) A low-income year is the year to sell an appreciated holding the household meant to sell anyway; a conversion uses that same room, so the two decisions are made together.
When each spouse claims Social Security
Each year a benefit is deferred keeps the window open and the eventual benefit larger. Once benefits begin, a portion can be taxable depending on other income. (IRS Publication 915) For a couple, the higher earner’s claiming age also sets the survivor’s benefit: this decision is made for two lifetimes.
The interactions that change the answer
Three rules outside the tax table read the same income figure on their own schedules.
Medicare premiums are keyed to income from two years earlier
Part B and Part D premiums rise with modified adjusted gross income from two years before the premium year. (20 CFR §418.1135) In 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, rising to $284.10 once a joint return shows more than $218,000, or a single return more than $109,000. (CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles) A spouse’s death or a work stoppage lets a household ask for a more recent year to be used; a conversion does not. (20 CFR §418.1205)
The survivor’s single brackets
The year of a spouse’s death is the last joint return; the next, unless there is a dependent child, is filed as single. (IRS Publication 501) In 2026 that means a standard deduction of $16,100 rather than $32,200, the 22% rate beginning at $50,400 of taxable income rather than $100,800, and the Medicare line at $109,000 rather than $218,000. Whatever the couple did not move jointly, the survivor moves alone at roughly twice the rate.
Marketplace coverage before 65
A household retiring before Medicare and buying marketplace coverage has its premium credit set by expected income for the coverage year — IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, capital gains, and Social Security benefits all count. (HealthCare.gov, what counts as income) Every IRA dollar moved in those years carries a second cost.
How we sequence it
These are not four separate questions. They are one plan, and the order matters.
- Start at the far end. We estimate the pre-tax balance at 73 or 75, what the formula will require, and how the survivor’s return would look on single brackets.
- Read this year’s interactions. Is anyone on marketplace coverage, or is this one of the two years that sets a Medicare premium? Those, plus any business sale, deferred compensation, or inheritance already landing on the return, set the ceiling.
- Choose the line, then the account. We set the year’s income target, then split it between IRA spending, a conversion, and any gain that fits the room left.
- Layer in giving. Past 70½, planned gifts come from the IRA first, keeping those dollars off the return entirely.
- Hold the claiming decision as the backbone. Each spouse’s Social Security date is chosen once, for the whole plan, and the yearly targets are built around it.
Then we do it again the following year. Balances move, brackets are indexed. The point of the coordination is that the decisions are made once, on purpose, with someone watching the whole picture, so a good bracket decision is not undone by a premium notice two years later.
What this does not mean
None of this is a recommendation to convert, to withdraw early, or to sell anything. Many households pay less tax over their lifetimes by doing nothing in these years. The window is room to make deliberate choices, not an instruction to fill every bracket.
The figures above are federal and for 2026. State income tax, the taxation of Social Security benefits, and the 1959 birth year, which a separate proposed rule would also set at 73, all change the arithmetic for a specific household. We do not project outcomes, and nothing on this page accounts for a particular family’s balances, health, or intentions.
Frequently asked questions
When do required withdrawals actually begin?
At 73 for anyone born from 1951 through 1958, and at 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later, under section 107 of the SECURE 2.0 Act and Treasury’s final regulations. The first withdrawal can be delayed to April 1 of the following year. The 1959 birth year is addressed separately in a proposed rule that would also set it at 73.
Is the window only about Roth conversions?
No. A conversion is one form of the account decision. The window also covers ordinary spending withdrawals, IRA gifts after 70½, gains realized while the 0% rate applies, and the timing of each spouse’s Social Security claim.
Can the two-year Medicare lookback be reset?
Only for the events the regulation lists: a spouse’s death, marriage, divorce, or stopping or reducing work. A large conversion or withdrawal in the lookback year is not one of those events, so its effect on premiums stands.
What if one spouse is on Medicare and the other is still under 65?
Both rules read the same joint income. The older spouse’s Part B premium two years out and the younger spouse’s marketplace credit this year are set by one figure. That year’s taxable-income target is chosen against whichever threshold is lower.
Sources and further reading
- 26 U.S.C. §401(a)(9)(C), required beginning date and applicable age (as amended by SECURE 2.0 Act §107)
- T.D. 10001, final regulations on required minimum distributions (IRB 2024-33)
- IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from IRAs, including the Uniform Lifetime Table
- IRS Notice 2025-67, 2026 retirement plan and IRA limits, including the qualified charitable distribution limit
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 tax rate tables, capital gains thresholds, and standard deduction
- CMS, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B premiums and deductibles, with income-related adjustment amounts
- 20 CFR §418.1135, the tax year used for Medicare income-related premium adjustments
- REG-103529-23, proposed regulations addressing the applicable age for individuals born in 1959
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The views and opinions expressed here are those of The Financial Sciences Company as of the publish date and are provided for informational and educational purposes only. They are not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. The Financial Sciences Company, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Additional information is available in our Form ADV at adviserinfo.sec.gov.
General educational information, current as of 2026. Figures and rules change. For guidance specific to your situation, speak with a qualified professional.