Rollover planning for retirement transitions
Retirement Rollovers for Retirees
Discuss your retirement rollover choices with no obligation.
Rollover planning for retirement transitions
Discuss your retirement rollover choices with no obligation.
Rollover decisions at retirement run on three clocks. Before 59½, penalty rules — including the Rule of 55 — decide which accounts you can touch. From about 63, income starts setting your future Medicare premiums (IRMAA looks back two years). And at 73 or 75, required minimum distributions begin whether you need the money or not.
A rollover done in the wrong order against those clocks — rolling over before taking the year’s RMD, forfeiting Rule-of-55 access, or spiking IRMAA with a lump sum — is expensive and often irreversible. The sequencing is exactly what we help retirees get right, starting with a no-cost consultation.
Born 1951–1959: RMDs start at 73. Born 1960 or later: 75. The first one can be delayed to April 1 of the next year — but that stacks two RMDs into one tax year, which can raise your bracket and Medicare premiums. Check your RMD year →
An RMD can never be rolled over. In any year you’re of RMD age, the required amount must be distributed first; only the excess is rollover-eligible. Administrators enforce this — plan the order.
A current employer’s 401(k) can defer RMDs until you actually retire (unless you own 5%+). IRAs never can. Rolling a current plan to an IRA while still working starts RMDs; rolling old accounts into the current plan can pause them.
The Rule of 55 makes your final employer’s plan penalty-free now — but only while the money stays there. Many early retirees keep enough in the plan to bridge to 59½ and roll the rest.
2026 IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 single / $218,000 joint MAGI — measured from your return two years earlier. A large Roth conversion or cash distribution in the year you retire can raise premiums at 65. Cliffs, not slopes: $1 over costs the full tier.
Between retirement and RMD age, taxable income is often at its lifetime low — which is why retirees convert to Roth in bracket-filling slices then. Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMDs at all. Estimate a conversion →
| Year you were born | RMD begins at | First RMD deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 or earlier | Already required (72 or earlier under prior law) | — |
| 1951–1959 | Age 73 | April 1 of the year after you turn 73 |
| 1960 or later | Age 75 | April 1 of the year after you turn 75 |
Missing an RMD carries a 25% excise tax on the shortfall — reduced to 10% if corrected within the IRS correction window (SECURE 2.0 cut this from the old 50%). Roth IRAs, and Roth 401(k)s from 2024 on, have no lifetime RMDs. Consolidating scattered accounts before RMD age means one calculation instead of five — one of the most practical reasons retirees roll accounts together.
We consider the rollover alongside income needs, taxes, existing accounts, and your retirement timeline.
Fewer accounts can be easier to monitor, but preserving useful plan features may be more important than simply reducing the number of statements.
We organize the rollover process so you understand what decisions and paperwork come first.
Approaching retirement with a 401(k) or other workplace plan? Review your choices before deciding where the account should go. Schedule your no-cost consultation →
Prefer to talk? Call 435-291-5444.
Request your no-cost consultation
Tell us how to reach you — we’ll follow up within one business day.
We identify workplace plans, IRAs, and other retirement assets relevant to the rollover decision.
We consider when you expect to retire and when you may need to begin using the account.
We look at investments, expenses, withdrawal rules, and other differences between the existing plan and available alternatives.
Potential distributions, conversions, and future withdrawals may create tax considerations worth reviewing with a qualified professional.
If you decide a rollover fits your plan, we explain the transfer process and information required by the account providers.