We are all faced with the dilemma of taking Required Minimum Distribution from our IRA accounts when we turn 70 years old. If you have accumulated large IRA’s (including transferred 401K accounts), this can be a problem.

• First you may not need the approx. 4% annual amount you are required to take out
• The RMD when added to your pension and Social Security might put you in a much higher tax bracket, Social Security might be taxed at a higher rate
• You have to pay income tax on the RMD as “ordinary income”, not getting any preferred tax rate break

So, here is how you can build your own RMD spreadsheet to project exactly want your annual withdrawal might be, including the ability to analyze “what if” possibilities.

You might want to adjust the Annual Growth Rate to be something conservative.

The “Factor” shown in the model is from the IRS.