Couple’s IRA RMDs Climb to $57,000 by Age 80 From $650,000 Saved

Q: Why might delaying your first mandatory 401(k) withdrawal accidentally push you into a devastatingly high Medicare tax bracket?

Delaying your first 401(k) withdrawal can bunch two required minimum distributions into one calendar year, sharply inflating the income Medicare uses to set premiums. The rule lets your first RMD wait until April 1 of the year after you turn 73, but your second RMD is still due by Dec. 31 of that same year. That means two taxable withdrawals can hit one tax return. Because 401(k) RMDs are taxed as ordinary income, the doubled withdrawal can push modified adjusted gross income over Medicare’s IRMAA thresholds. Medicare Part B and Part D premiums rise in steps, not gradually, so going even slightly over a threshold can trigger a much higher monthly charge for the full year. In the highest tier, Part B alone can reach about $689.90 a month per person in 2026, plus a separate Part D surcharge. The sting is worse because Medicare looks back two years. A large two-RMD year at 74 can raise premiums at 76. Retirees may not connect the later Medicare bill to the earlier withdrawal decision, but the link is direct. In the couple’s example, a combined first-year RMD around $42,000 already adds meaningfully to taxable income. If that amount is stacked with the next year’s RMD, along with pension income, Social Security and investment income, it can be enough to cross an IRMAA cliff. That is why planners often urge retirees to take the first RMD in the year they turn 73 rather than delay it.

2 articles · Updated · AOL · Oct 20

$650,000 in traditional IRAs can produce a first required minimum distribution of about $41,952 at age 73 and roughly $57,209 by age 80 for a same-age retired couple.
At a 5% annual return, the untouched accounts grow to about $1.11 million by age 72, and shrinking IRS divisors—from 26.5 at 73 to 20.2 at 80—force larger withdrawals each year.
A $48,000 pension plus the first RMD lifts household income to about $89,952 before Social Security; adding average benefits of $40,260 pushes gross income to roughly $130,212 at 73.
That income can move more of the couple’s withdrawals from the 12% bracket toward 22%, making ages 62 to 73 a key window for partial Roth conversions, planned withdrawals or qualified charitable distributions.
The example underscores a broader issue for above-average savers: even when balances keep growing after RMDs begin, forced withdrawals can steadily raise taxable income later in retirement.