The Retirement Drawdown Timeline

📅 Age 50–59½: Prep & Catch-Up

• Start maxing out retirement accounts and take advantage of catch-up contributions.

• Begin projecting future income needs and building a withdrawal plan.

• Start increasing your cash savings from 6 months up to 2 years by the time you retire.

📅 Age 59½: Penalty-Free Withdrawals Begin

• You can now withdraw from IRAs and 401(k)s without the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

• Time to evaluate whether strategic withdrawals or Roth conversions make sense.

📅 Age 62: Social Security Eligible

• Eligible for early Social Security, but benefits are reduced.

• Key decision: claim now or delay for higher lifetime benefits?

📅 Age 63: IRMAA Look-Back Begins

• The income you report this year affects your Medicare premiums at age 65.

• Be careful with Roth conversions and large withdrawals this year.

📅 Age 65: Medicare Enrollment

• Initial enrollment period begins 3 months before your 65th birthday.

• Coordinate employer coverage (if any) with Medicare.

📅 Age 67: Full Retirement Age (FRA)

• Eligible for full Social Security benefits.

• Opportunity to reassess income sources and tax planning needs.

📅 Age 70: Max Out Social Security

• No benefit to delaying past this age—claim now if you haven't already.

• Consider how Social Security income fits into your drawdown strategy.

📅 Age 70½: Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

• You can now make direct charitable gifts from IRAs.

• QCDs reduce taxable income and can count toward future RMDs.

📅 Age 73: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) Begin

• You must start taking taxable withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts.

• Failing to take RMDs results in a steep penalty.

• Plan ahead to smooth tax impact and avoid IRMAA brackets.

📋 Tip:

Planning early helps you take advantage of low-income years, avoid tax spikes, and build a smoother income strategy.

This guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice.