A Couple Who Retires at 60 With $580,000 Between His 401(k) and Her IRA and Lives on Her State Pension for 13 Years Will Face About $41,000 of RMDs at 73, on Top of the Pension
Thirteen years of untouched retirement accounts sounds like a gift, but the IRS has a way of turning compound growth into a mandatory tax bill that arrives whether a couple needs the money or not.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
A married couple retires at 60 with $580,000 split between his 401(k) and her traditional IRA. They live on her state pension and leave both accounts untouched until required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin at 73. This case shows how large those mandatory withdrawals become after 13 years of growth and how they stack on top of pension income.
Where $580,000 Sits Against What Most Savers Hold
Vanguard’s most recent figures put the average 401(k) balance at $148,153 and the median at $38,176. The median is closer to what a typical participant holds, since a small number of very large accounts pull up the average. Transamerica’s survey puts median household retirement savings for Baby Boomers at $270,000. By that measure, the couple in this case is well ahead of a typical household near retirement, and that head start is also the reason a tax question shows up later.
How $580,000 Turns Into a $41,000 Withdrawal
An RMD equals the account balance on the prior December 31 divided by a factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. At 73, that factor is 26.5. If both spouses are the same age, they use the same factor, and the combined total comes out the same.
If the $580,000 grows 5% annually with no withdrawals, it reaches about $1.09 million after 13 years. Dividing by 26.5 gives a first-year RMD of about $41,271.
A Small Change in Growth Moves the RMD by Thousands
The $41,000 figure depends on growth assumptions. At 4% annual growth, the first RMD is about $36,443. At 6%, it rises to about $46,683. A two-point change in returns shifts the required withdrawal by roughly $10,000.
The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.24% on September 28, 2026, close to the 5% assumption. A couple parking everything at the national average 12-month CD rate of 1.73% would face a first RMD of about $27,354.
Adding the RMD on Top of the Pension
One big consideration is that RMDs from pre-tax accounts will count as ordinary income. For married couples filing jointly in 2025, the 12% bracket covers taxable income up to $96,950 and the standard deduction is $31,500. A pension of up to about $87,450 plus a $41,000 RMD keeps the couple in the 12% bracket, excluding the extra deduction for taxpayers 65 and older and Social Security income.
At 12%, federal tax on a $41,000 RMD comes to about $4,920. If a larger pension drives the withdrawal into the 22% bracket, the tax rises to about $9,020. The standard deduction rises to $32,200 for 2026, and bracket thresholds are adjusted for inflation each year. The exact dividing lines in 13 years will therefore be different.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts average annual household spending at $78,535 in 2024. A pension in that range covers normal costs on its own. This makes RMD income something the couple must take and pay tax on, regardless of need.
Birth Year Can Push the Start Date Past 73
The age-73 start applies to people born from 1951 through 1959. Under SECURE 2.0, the start age moves to 75 for people born in 1960 or later. A couple turning 60 today falls into the later group, allowing two more years of growth before the first withdrawal.
What the 13 Quiet Years Mean for the Tax Bill
Between 60 and the first RMD, the couple’s taxable income may be little more than the pension. Some households use these years to take partial withdrawals or make Roth conversions while in a lower bracket, the same window we walked through in a free guide on defusing the first-year RMD tax bill years before it lands. Converted money no longer counts toward future RMDs. Others leave accounts to grow and accept a larger required withdrawal later.
The math follows the same steps either way. The balance compounds, the IRS factor turns it into a mandatory withdrawal, and the pension sets the income floor that withdrawal is added to. For this couple, a 5% return leads to roughly $41,000 a year of extra taxable income starting at 73, and pension size, investment returns, and future bracket changes will decide how much of it goes to taxes.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
David Beren has been a Flywheel Publishing contributor since 2022. Writing for 24/7 Wall St. since 2023, David loves to write about topics of all shapes and sizes. As a technology expert, David focuses heavily on consumer electronics brands, automobiles, and general technology. He has previously written for LifeWire, formerly About.com. As a part-time freelance writer, David’s “day job” has been working on and leading social media for multiple Fortune 100 brands. David loves the flexibility of this field and its ability to reach customers exactly where they like to spend their time. Additionally, David previously published his own blog, TmoNews.com, which reached 3 million readers in its first year. In addition to freelance and social media work, David loves to spend time with his family and children and relive the glory days of video game consoles by playing any retro game console he can get his hands on.
