401k RMD Table: Calculating Your Annual Withdrawal
Navigate mandatory 401k withdrawals with confidence. This guide clarifies the process for determining your required annual distribution amount accurately.
A Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is a mandatory annual withdrawal the federal government requires from certain retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, after you reach a specific age. This process ensures that deferred taxes on retirement savings are eventually paid. The rules governing these withdrawals are precise, and failing to take the correct amount on time can result in penalties.
Determining Your RMD Starting Age
The age at which you must begin taking RMDs from your 401(k) depends on your birth year. Due to the SECURE 2.0 Act, the RMD age is 73 for individuals born in 1951 or later.
An exception exists for those still employed past their RMD starting age. Under the “still-working exception,” you can delay RMDs from your current employer’s 401(k) plan until you retire, as long as you do not own more than 5% of the company. This exception only applies to the 401(k) of your current employer; RMD rules still apply to IRAs or 401(k)s from previous employers.
The deadline for your first RMD is April 1 of the year after you reach your RMD age. For example, an individual turning 73 in 2025 has until April 1, 2026, to take their first distribution. All subsequent RMDs must be taken by December 31 of each year. Delaying your first distribution until the following year will result in two taxable distributions in that single calendar year.
Using the Uniform Lifetime Table
The IRS provides the Uniform Lifetime Table to calculate your annual RMD amount. This table is used by most 401(k) account holders and provides a “distribution period,” which is a life expectancy factor. It is not for beneficiaries or for account owners whose spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, as those situations require different tables.
The RMD calculation is based on the fair market value of your 401(k) as of December 31 of the year preceding the distribution. For example, your 2025 RMD is calculated using your account balance from December 31, 2024.
With the prior year-end account balance, you then consult the Uniform Lifetime Table. Find your age for the distribution year to locate the corresponding distribution period. For example, a 75-year-old has a distribution period of 24.6.
IRS Uniform Lifetime Table
| Age | Distribution Period | Age | Distribution Period |
| — | ——————- | — | ——————- |
| 73 | 26.5 | 97 | 7.8 |
| 74 | 25.5 | 98 | 7.3 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 99 | 6.8 |
| 76 | 23.7 | 100 | 6.4 |
| 77 | 22.9 | 101 | 6.0 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 102 | 5.6 |
| 79 | 21.1 | 103 | 5.2 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 104 | 4.9 |
| 81 | 19.4 | 105 | 4.6 |
| 82 | 18.5 | 106 | 4.3 |
| 83 | 17.7 | 107 | 4.1 |
| 84 | 16.8 | 108 | 3.9 |
| 85 | 16.0 | 109 | 3.7 |
| 86 | 15.2 | 110 | 3.5 |
| 87 | 14.4 | 111 | 3.4 |
| 88 | 13.7 | 112 | 3.3 |
| 89 | 12.9 | 113 | 3.1 |
| 90 | 12.2 | 114 | 3.0 |
| 91 | 11.5 | 115 | 2.9 |
| 92 | 10.8 | 116 | 2.8 |
| 93 | 10.1 | 117 | 2.7 |
| 94 | 9.5 | 118 | 2.5 |
| 95 | 8.9 | 119 | 2.3 |
| 96 | 8.4 | 120+ | 2.0 |
Source: Internal Revenue Service
Calculating Your RMD Amount
The RMD calculation is: Prior Year-End Account Balance ÷ Distribution Period = RMD. For example, a 76-year-old with a prior year-end 401(k) balance of $262,000 would use their distribution period of 23.7. The calculation is: $262,000 ÷ 23.7 = $11,054.85. This is the minimum amount that must be withdrawn for the year. Failure to withdraw the full amount by the deadline results in a penalty of 25% of the shortfall, though this can be reduced to 10% if corrected promptly.
RMD Rules for Beneficiaries
Withdrawal rules for an inherited 401(k) differ from those for the original owner. For most non-spouse beneficiaries, the SECURE Act’s “10-year rule” requires the entire account balance to be withdrawn by the end of the tenth year following the original owner’s death.
Withdrawal requirements during the 10-year period depend on when the original owner died. If the owner died after their RMDs had started, the beneficiary must take annual distributions. If the owner died before their RMDs began, no annual withdrawals are required, but the account must still be emptied by the end of the tenth year.
A category of “Eligible Designated Beneficiaries” (EDBs) follows different rules and can take distributions over their own life expectancy. This group includes:
- The surviving spouse
- Minor children of the account owner
- Disabled or chronically ill individuals
- Beneficiaries not more than 10 years younger than the decedent
For minor children, this life expectancy option ends when they reach the age of majority, at which point the 10-year rule applies.
Surviving spouses have additional options. Besides taking distributions over their life expectancy, a surviving spouse can roll over the inherited 401(k) into their own IRA. This allows them to treat the funds as their own and delay distributions until they reach their own RMD start age.