Is There a Tax Penalty If I Withdraw at Age 60?

In most cases, you will not have to pay an early withdrawal penalty if you take a distribution from your retirement account at age 60.

Time Frame

Tax-advantaged retirement accounts, including IRAs, 401ks and 403bs, require that you be at least 59 1/2 in order for your distribution to not be considered an early withdrawal.

Roth Accounts

If you have a Roth account, you must have your account open for five years before you can withdraw earnings, even if you are over age 59 1/2.

Roth Rollovers

If you roll over money from a traditional account to a Roth account, each rollover has a separate five-year holding period. If you rolled over money in 2004 and 2008, the five-year period for the 2004 rollover would end in 2009; you would have to wait until 2014 to withdraw money from the 2009 rollover without a penalty.

Penalties

If you take a non-qualified distribution from your account, you must pay a 10 percent penalty on the amount of the withdrawal.

Misconceptions

A qualified withdrawal means you do not have to pay a penalty. However, if you are taking a qualified withdrawal from a traditional IRA, 401k or 403b plan, you must still include the withdrawal as taxable income.

References

• IRS.gov: IRA Rules
• IRS.gov: Pension and Annuity Income
• Investopedia: Know the Rules for Roth 401(k) Rollovers