Employee Pensions & Annuities

Generally, if you did not pay any part of the cost of your employee pension or annuity and your employer did not withhold part of the cost from your pay while you worked, the amounts you receive each year are fully taxable. You must report them on your income tax return.

Partly taxable payments. If you paid part of the cost of your annuity, you are not taxed on the part of the annuity you receive that represents a return of your cost. The rest of the amount you receive is taxable. Your annuity starting date (defined later) determines which method you must or may use.

If you contributed to your pension or annuity plan, you figure the tax-free and the taxable parts of your annuity payments under either the Simplified Method or the General Rule. If your annuity starting date is after November 18, 1996, and your payments are from a qualified plan, you must use the Simplified Method. Generally, you must use the General Rule only for nonqualified plans.

If your annuity starting date is after July 1, 1986, but before November 19, 1996, you can use either the General Rule or, if you qualify, the Simplified Method.

More than one program. If you receive benefits from more than one program, such as a pension plan and a profit-sharing plan, you must figure the taxable part of each separately. Make separate computations even if the benefits from both are included in the same check. For example, benefits from one of your programs could be fully taxable, while the benefits from your other program could be taxable under the General Rule or the Simplified Method. Your former employer or the plan administrator should be able to tell you if you have more than one pension or annuity contract.

Railroad retirement benefits. Part of the railroad retirement benefits you receive is treated for tax purposes like social security benefits, and part is treated like an employee pension. For information about railroad retirement benefits treated as social security benefits, see Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. For information about railroad retirement benefits treated as an employee pension, see Railroad Retirement in Publication 575.

Credit for the elderly or the disabled. If you receive a pension or annuity, you may be able to take the credit for the elderly or the disabled. See chapter 34.

Withholding and estimated tax. The payer of your pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, annuity, or deferred compensation plan will withhold income tax on the taxable parts of amounts paid to you. You can choose not to have tax withheld except for amounts paid to you that are eligible rollover distributions. See Eligible rollover distributions under Rollovers, later. You make this choice by filing Form W-4P.

For payments other than eligible rollover distributions, you can tell the payer how to withhold by filing Form W-4P. If an eligible rollover distribution is paid directly to you, 20% will generally be withheld. There is no withholding on a direct rollover of an eligible rollover distribution. See Direct rollover option under Rollovers, later. If you choose not to have tax withheld or you do not have enough tax withheld, you may have to pay estimated tax.

For more information, see Pensions and Annuities under Withholding in chapter 5.

Loans. If you borrow money from your qualified pension or annuity plan, tax-sheltered annuity program, government plan, or contract purchased under any of these plans, you may have to treat the loan as a nonperiodic distribution. This means that you may have to include in income all or part of the amount borrowed unless certain exceptions apply. Even if you do not have to treat the loan as a nonperiodic distribution, you may not be able to deduct the interest on the loan in some situations. For details, see Loans Treated as Distributions in Publication 575. For information on the deductibility of interest, see chapter 25.

Qualified plans for self-employed individuals. Qualified plans set up by self-employed individuals are sometimes called Keogh or H.R. 10 plans. Qualified plans can be set up by sole proprietors, partnerships (but not a partner), and corporations. They can cover self-employed persons, such as the sole proprietor or partners, as well as regular (common-law) employees.

Distributions from a qualified plan are usually fully taxable because most recipients have no cost basis. If you have an investment (cost) in the plan, however, your pension or annuity payments from a qualified plan are taxed under the Simplified Method. For more information about qualified plans, see Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business.

Deferred compensation plans of state and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. If you participate in one of these nonqualified plans (known as section 457 plans), you will not be taxed currently on your pay that is deferred under the plan. You or your beneficiary will be taxed on this deferred pay only when it is distributed or otherwise made available to either of you.

For information on the limits on deferrals under section 457 plans and how to treat excess deferrals, see Retirement Plan Contributions under Employee Compensation in Publication 525.

Distributions of deferred pay are not eligible for the 10-year tax option and rollover treatment (discussed later). Distributions are, however, subject to the tax for failure to make minimum distributions. See Required distributions not made, under Tax on Excess Accumulation, later.

For general information on these deferred compensation plans, see Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans in Publication 575.

Cost (Investment in the Contract)

Before you can figure how much, if any, of your pension or annuity benefits is taxable, you must determine your cost (your investment in the contract). Your total cost in the plan includes everything that you paid. It also includes amounts your employer paid that were taxable at the time paid. Cost does not include any amounts you deducted or excluded from income.

From this total cost paid or considered paid by you, subtract any refunds of premiums, rebates, dividends, unrepaid loans, or other tax-free amounts you received by the later of the annuity starting date or the date on which you received your first payment.

Your annuity starting date is the later of the first day of the first period for which you received a payment, or the date the plan's obligation became fixed.

Your employer or the organization that pays you the benefits (plan administrator) should show your cost in Box 5 of your Form 1099-R.

Foreign employment contributions. If you worked in a foreign country and your employer contributed to your retirement plan, a part of those payments may be considered part of your cost. This applies to contributions that were made:

1. Before 1963,
2. After 1962 for work if you performed the services under a plan that existed on March 12, 1962, or
3. After 1996 if you performed the services of a foreign missionary.

Simplified Method

Under the Simplified Method, you figure the tax-free part of each monthly annuity payment by dividing your cost by the total number of expected monthly payments. For an annuity that is payable for the lives of the annuitants, this number is based on the annuitants' ages on the annuity starting date and is determined from a table. For any other annuity, this number is the number of monthly annuity payments under the contract.

Who must use the Simplified Method. You must use the Simplified Method if your annuity starting date is after November 18, 1996, and you receive pension or annuity payments from a qualified plan or annuity, unless you were at least 75 years old and entitled to annuity payments from a qualified plan that are guaranteed for 5 years or more.

Who must use the General Rule. You must use the General Rule if you receive pension or annuity payments from:

1. A nonqualified plan (such as a private annuity, a purchased commercial annuity, or a nonqualified employee plan), or
2. A qualified plan if you are age 75 or older on your annuity starting date and your annuity payments are guaranteed for at least 5 years.

You can use the General Rule for a qualified plan if your annuity starting date is before November 19, 1996 (but after July 1, 1986), and you do not qualify to use, or choose not to use, the Simplified Method.

You generally cannot use the General Rule for a qualified plan if your annuity starting date is after November 18, 1996. Complete information on the General Rule, including the tables you need, is contained in Publication 939.

If you are age 75 or older, and your annuity starting date is after November 18, 1996, you must use the General Rule if the payments are guaranteed for at least 5 years. You must use the Simplified Method if the payments are guaranteed for less than 5 years.

Note. If you are not sure whether your retirement plan is a qualified plan (that meets certain Internal Revenue Code requirements), ask your employer or plan administrator.

Guaranteed payments. Your annuity contract provides guaranteed payments if a minimum number of payments or a minimum amount (for example, the amount of your investment) is payable even if you and any survivor annuitant do not live to receive the minimum. If the minimum amount is less than the total amount of the payments you are to receive, barring death, during the first 5 years after payments begin (figured by ignoring any payment increases), you are entitled to less than 5 years of guaranteed payments.

If you are the survivor of a deceased retiree, you can use the Simplified Method if the retiree used it.

Exclusion limit. Your annuity starting date determines the total amount that you can exclude from your taxable income over the years.

If your annuity starting date is after 1986, your exclusion is limited to your cost. If it was before January 1, 1987, you can continue to take your monthly exclusion for as long as you receive your annuity.

If your annuity starting date is after 1986, any unrecovered cost at your (or the last annuitant's) death is allowed as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on the final return of the decedent. This deduction is not subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income limit.

How to use it. Complete the Simplified Method Worksheet to figure your taxable annuity for 2001. If the annuity is payable only over your life, use your age at the birthday preceding your annuity starting date. For annuity starting dates beginning in 1998, if your annuity is payable over your life and the lives of other individuals, use your combined ages at the birthdays preceding the annuity starting date.

If your annuity starting date begins in 1998 and your annuity is payable over the lives of more than one annuitant, the total number of monthly annuity payments expected to be received is based on the combined ages of the annuitants at the annuity starting date. However, if your annuity starting date began before January 1, 1998, the total number of monthly annuity payments expected to be received is based on the primary annuitant's age at the annuity starting date.

Be sure to keep a copy of the completed worksheet; it will help you figure your taxable annuity in later years.

Example. Bill Kirkland, age 65, began receiving retirement benefits on January 1, 2001, under a joint and survivor annuity. Bill's annuity starting date is January 1, 2001. The benefits are to be paid for the joint lives of Bill and his wife, Kathy, age 65. Bill had contributed $31,000 to a qualified plan and had received no distributions before the annuity starting date. Bill is to receive a retirement benefit of $1,200 a month, and Kathy is to receive a monthly survivor benefit of $600 upon Bill's death.

Bill must use the Simplified Method to figure his taxable annuity because his payments are from a qualified plan and he is under age 75. Because his annuity is payable over the lives of more than one annuitant, he uses his and Kathy's combined ages and Table 2 at the bottom of the worksheet in completing line 3 of the worksheet. His completed worksheet is shown in Table 11-1.

Bill's tax-free monthly amount is $100 ($31,000 × 310 as shown on line 4 of the worksheet). Upon Bill's death, if Bill has not recovered the full $31,000 investment, Kathy will also exclude $100 from her $600 monthly payment. The full amount of any annuity payments received after 310 payments are paid must be included in gross income.

If Bill and Kathy die before 310 payments are made, a miscellaneous itemized deduction will be allowed for the unrecovered cost on the final income tax return of the last to die. This deduction is not subject to the 2%-of-adjusted- gross-income limit.

Had Bill's retirement annuity payments been from a nonqualified plan, he would have used the General Rule. He uses the Simplified Method Worksheet because his annuity payments are from a qualified plan.

Survivors

If you receive a survivor annuity because of the death of a retiree who had reported the annuity under the Three-Year Rule, include the total received in income. (The retiree's cost has already been recovered tax free.)

If the retiree was reporting the annuity payments under the General Rule, apply the same exclusion percentage the retiree used to your initial payment called for in the contract. The resulting tax-free amount will then remain fixed. Any increases in the survivor annuity are fully taxable.

If the retiree was reporting the annuity payments under the Simplified Method, the part of each payment that is tax free is the same as the tax-free amount figured by the retiree at the annuity starting date. See Simplified Method, earlier.

In any case, if the annuity starting date is after 1986, the total exclusion over the years cannot be more than the cost.

If you are the survivor of an employee, or former employee, who died before becoming entitled to any annuity payments, you must figure the taxable and tax-free parts of your annuity payments.

Estate tax. If your annuity was a joint and survivor annuity that was included in the decedent's estate, an estate tax may have been paid on it. You can deduct, as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, the part of the total estate tax that was based on the annuity. This deduction is not subject to the 2%-of- adjusted-gross-income limit. The deceased annuitant must have died after the annuity starting date. (For details, see section 1.691(d)-1 of the regulations.) This amount cannot be deducted in one year. It must be deducted in equal amounts over your remaining life expectancy.

How To Report

If you file Form 1040, report your total annuity on line 16a and the taxable part on line 16b. If your pension or annuity is fully taxable, enter it on line 16b; do not make an entry on line 16a.

If you file Form 1040A, report your total annuity on line 12a and the taxable part on line 12b. If your pension or annuity is fully taxable, enter it on line 12b; do not make an entry on line 12a.

More than one annuity. If you receive more than one annuity and at least one of them is not fully taxable, enter the total amount received from all annuities on line 16a, Form 1040, or line 12a, Form 1040A, and enter the taxable part on line 16b, Form 1040, or line 12b, Form 1040A. If all the annuities you receive are fully taxable, enter the total of all of them on line 16b, Form 1040, or line 12b, Form 1040A.

Joint return. If you file a joint return and you and your spouse each receive one or more pensions or annuities, report the total of the pensions and annuities on line 16a, Form 1040, or line 12a, Form 1040A, and report the taxable part on line 16b, Form 1040, or line 12b, Form 1040A.

Table 11-1 Simplified Method Worksheet
(Keep for Your Records)

Lump-Sum Distributions

If you receive a lump-sum distribution from a qualified employee plan or qualified employee annuity and the plan participant was born before 1936, you may be able to elect optional methods of figuring the tax on the distribution. The part from active participation in the plan before 1974 may qualify as capital gain subject to a 20% tax rate. The part from participation after 1973 (and any part from participation before 1974 that you do not report as capital gain) is ordinary income. You may be able to use the 10-year tax option, discussed later, to figure tax on the ordinary income part.

The 5-year tax option for figuring the tax on lump-sum distributions has been repealed.

Use Form 4972 to figure the separate tax on a lump-sum distribution using the optional methods. The tax figured on Form 4972 is added to the regular tax figured on your other income. This may result in a smaller tax than you would pay by including the taxable amount of the distribution as ordinary income in figuring your regular tax.

Lump-sum distribution defined. A lump-sum distribution is the distribution or payment in 1 tax year of a plan participant's entire balance from all of the employer's qualified plans of one kind (for example, pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus plans). A distribution from a nonqualified plan (such as a privately purchased commercial annuity or a section 457 deferred compensation plan of a state or local government or tax-exempt organization) cannot qualify as a lump-sum distribution.

The participant's entire balance from a plan does not include certain forfeited amounts. It also does not include any deductible voluntary employee contributions allowed by the plan after 1981 and before 1987. For more information about distributions that do not qualify as lump-sum distributions, see Distributions that do not qualify under Lump-Sum Distributions in Publication 575.

How to treat the distribution. If you receive a lump-sum distribution, you may have the following options for how you treat the taxable part.

1. Report the part of the distribution from participation before 1974 as a capital gain (if you qualify) and the part from participation after 1973 as ordinary income.
2. Report the part of the distribution from participation before 1974 as a capital gain (if you qualify) and use the 10-year tax option to figure the tax on the part from participation after 1973 (if you qualify).
3. Use the 10-year tax option to figure the tax on the total taxable amount (if you qualify).
4. Roll over all or part of the distribution. See Rollovers, later. No tax is currently due on the part rolled over. Report any part not rolled over as ordinary income.
5. Report the entire taxable part of the distribution as ordinary income on your tax return.

The first three options are explained in the following discussions.

Electing optional lump-sum treatment. You can choose to use the 10-year tax option or capital gain treatment only once after 1986 for any plan participant. If you make this choice, you cannot use either of these optional treatments for any future distributions for the participant.

Taxable and tax-free parts of the distribution. The taxable part of a lump-sum distribution is the employer's contributions and income earned on your account. You may recover your cost in the lump sum and any net unrealized appreciation (NUA) in employer securities tax free.

Cost. In general, your cost is the total of:

1. The plan participant's nondeductible contributions to the plan,
2. The plan participant's taxable costs of any life insurance contract distributed,
3. Any employer contributions that were taxable to the plan participant, and
4. Repayments of any loans that were taxable to the plan participant.

You must reduce this cost by amounts previously distributed tax free.

NUA. The NUA in employer securities (box 6 of Form 1099-R) received as part of a lump-sum distribution is generally tax free until you sell or exchange the securities. (For more information, see Distributions of employer securities under Taxation of Nonperiodic Payments, in Publication 575.)

Capital Gain Treatment

Capital gain treatment applies only to the taxable part of a lump-sum distribution resulting from participation in the plan before 1974. The amount treated as capital gain is taxed at a 20% rate. You can elect this treatment only once for any plan participant, and only if the plan participant was born before 1936.

Complete Part II of Form 4972 to choose the 20% capital gain election. For more information, see Capital Gain Treatment under Lump-Sum Distributions in Publication 575.

10-Year Tax Option

The 10-year tax option is a special formula used to figure a separate tax on the ordinary income part of a lump-sum distribution. You pay the tax only once, for the year in which you receive the distribution, not over the next 10 years. You can elect this treatment only once for any plan participant, and only if the plan participant was born before 1936.

The ordinary income part of the distribution is the amount shown in box 2a of the Form 1099-R given to you by the payer, minus the amount, if any, shown in box 3. You also can treat the capital gain part of the distribution (box 3 of Form 1099-R) as ordinary income for the 10-year tax option if you do not choose capital gain treatment for that part.

Complete Part III of Form 4972 to choose the 10-year tax option. You must use the special tax rates shown in the instructions for Part III to figure the tax. Publication 575 illustrates how to complete Form 4972 to figure the separate tax.

Rollovers

If you withdraw cash or other assets from a qualified retirement plan in an eligible rollover distribution, you can defer tax on the distribution by rolling it over to another qualified retirement plan or a traditional IRA.

For this purpose, a qualified retirement plan generally is:

1. A qualified employee plan, or
2. A qualified employee annuity.

This discussion applies only to traditional IRAs.

In general, the most you can roll over is the part that would be taxable if you did not roll it over. You cannot roll over your contributions, other than your deductible employee contributions. You do not pay tax on the amount that you roll over. This amount, however, is generally taxable later when it is paid to you or your survivor.

You must generally complete the rollover by the 60th day following the day on which you receive the distribution from your employer's plan. (This 60-day period is extended for the period during which the distribution is in a frozen deposit in a financial institution.) For all rollovers to an IRA, you must irrevocably elect rollover treatment by written notice to the trustee or issuer of the IRA.

The 60-day period may be extended for distributions made after 2001 in certain cases of casualty, disaster, or other events beyond your reasonable control.

Eligible rollover distributions. Generally, you can roll over any part of the taxable portion of most nonperiodic distributions from a qualified retirement plan, unless it is a required minimum distribution.

Hardship distributions. Hardship distributions from 401(k) plans and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans are no longer treated as eligible rollover distributions.

Direct rollover option. You can choose to have the administrator of your old plan transfer the distribution directly from your old plan to the new plan (if permitted) or traditional IRA. If you decide on a rollover, it is generally to your advantage to choose this direct rollover option. Under this option, the plan administrator would not withhold tax from your distribution.

Withholding tax. If you choose to have the distribution paid to you, it is taxable in the year distributed unless you roll it over to a new plan or IRA within 60 days. The plan administrator must withhold income tax of 20% from the taxable distribution paid to you. (See Pensions and Annuities under Withholding in chapter 5.)

If you decide to roll over an amount equal to the distribution before withholding, your contribution to the new plan or IRA must include other money (for example, from savings or amounts borrowed) to replace the amount withheld.

The administrator must give you a written explanation of your distribution options within a reasonable period of time before making an eligible rollover distribution.

Deductible voluntary employee contributions. If you receive an eligible rollover distribution from your employer's qualified plan of a part of the balance of your accumulated deductible voluntary employee contributions, you can roll over tax free any part of this distribution. The rollover can be either to a traditional IRA or to certain other qualified plans.

Rollover by surviving spouse. You may be able to roll over tax free all or part of a distribution from a qualified retirement plan you receive as the surviving spouse of a deceased employee. The rollover rules apply to you as if you were the employee except that you generally can roll over the distribution only into a traditional IRA.

You can roll over a distribution made after 2001 into a qualified retirement plan or a traditional IRA.

A beneficiary other than the employee's surviving spouse cannot roll over a distribution.

Alternate payee under qualified domestic relations order. You may be able to roll over all or any part of a distribution from a qualified retirement plan that you receive under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). If you receive the distribution as an employee's spouse or former spouse (not as a nonspousal beneficiary), the rollover rules apply to you as if you were the employee. You can roll over the distribution from the plan into a traditional IRA or to another eligible retirement plan. See Publication 575 for more information on benefits received under a QDRO.

Retirement bonds. If you redeem a retirement bond, you can defer the tax on the amount received by rolling it over to an IRA or qualified employer plan as discussed in Publication 590. For more information on the rules for rolling over distributions, see Publication 575.

Special Additional Taxes

To discourage the use of pension funds for purposes other than normal retirement, the law imposes additional taxes on early distributions of those funds and on failures to withdraw the funds timely. Ordinarily, you will not be subject to these taxes if you roll over all early distributions you receive, as explained earlier, and begin drawing out the funds at a normal retirement age, in reasonable amounts over your life expectancy. These special additional taxes are the taxes on:

• Early distributions, and
• Excess accumulation (not receiving minimum distributions).

These taxes are discussed in the following sections.

If you must pay either of these taxes, report them on Form 5329. However, you do not have to file Form 5329 if you owe only the tax on early distributions and your Form 1099-R shows a "1" in box 7. Instead, enter 10% of the taxable part of the distribution on line 55 of Form 1040 and write "No" on the dotted line next to line 55.

Even if you do not owe any of these taxes, you may have to complete Form 5329 and attach it to your Form 1040. This applies if you received an early distribution and your Form 1099-R does not show distribution code "2," "3," or "4" in box 7 (or the code shown is incorrect).

Tax on Early Distributions

Most distributions (both periodic and nonperiodic) from qualified retirement plans and nonqualified annuity contracts made to you before you reach age 59 1/2 are subject to an additional tax of 10%. This tax applies to the part of the distribution that you must include in gross income.

For this purpose, a qualified retirement plan is:

1. A qualified employee plan,
2. A qualified employee annuity plan, or
3. A tax-sheltered annuity plan.

A state or local government section 457 deferred compensation plan is also treated as a qualified retirement plan to the extent that any distribution made after 2001 is attributable to amounts the plan received in a direct transfer or rollover from one of the plans listed above.

5% rate on certain early distributions from deferred annuity contracts. If an early withdrawal from a deferred annuity is otherwise subject to the 10% additional tax, a 5% rate may apply instead. A 5% rate applies to distributions under a written election providing a specific schedule for the distribution of your interest in the contract if, as of March 1, 1986, you had begun receiving payments under the election. On line 4 of Form 5329, multiply by 5% instead of 10%. Attach an explanation to your return.

Exceptions to tax. Certain early distributions are excepted from the early distribution tax. If the payer knows that an exception applies to your early distribution, distribution code "2," "3," or "4" should be shown in box 7 of your Form 1099-R and you do not have to report the distribution on Form 5329. If an exception applies but distribution code "1" (early distribution, no known exception) is shown in box 7, you must file Form 5329. Enter the taxable amount of the distribution shown in box 2a of your Form 1099-R on line 1 of Form 5329. On line 2, enter the amount that can be excluded and the exception number shown in the Form 5329 instructions.

If distribution code "1" is incorrectly shown on your Form 1099-R for a distribution received when you were age 59 1/2 or older, include that distribution on Form 5329. Enter exception number "11" on line 2.

The early distribution tax does not apply to any distribution that meets one of the following exceptions.

General exceptions. The tax does not apply to distributions that are:

• Made as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments (made at least annually) for your life (or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of you and your designated beneficiary (if from a qualified retirement plan, the payments must begin after your separation from service),
• Made because you are totally and permanently disabled, or
• Made on or after the death of the plan participant or contract holder.

Additional exceptions for qualified retirement plans. The tax does not apply to distributions that are:

• From a qualified retirement plan after your separation from service in or after the year you reached age 55,
• From a qualified retirement plan to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order,
• From a qualified retirement plan to the extent you have deductible medical expenses (medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income), whether or not you itemize your deductions for the year,
• From an employer plan under a written election that provides a specific schedule for distribution of your entire interest if, as of March 1, 1986, you had separated from service and had begun receiving payments under the election,
• From an employee stock ownership plan for dividends on employer securities held by the plan, or
• From a qualified retirement plan due to an IRS levy of the plan.

Additional exceptions for nonqualified annuity contracts. The tax does not apply to distributions that are:

• From a deferred annuity contract to the extent allocable to investment in the contract before August 14, 1982,
• From a deferred annuity contract under a qualified personal injury settlement,
• From a deferred annuity contract purchased by your employer upon termination of a qualified employee plan or qualified employee annuity plan and held by your employer until your separation from service, or
• From an immediate annuity contract (a single premium contract providing substantially equal annuity payments that start within one year from the date of purchase and are paid at least annually).

Tax on Excess Accumulation

To make sure that most of your retirement benefits are paid to you during your lifetime, rather than to your beneficiaries after your death, the payments that you receive from qualified retirement plans must begin no later than on your required beginning date (defined next).

Unless the rule for 5% owners applies, you must begin to receive distributions from your qualified retirement plan by April 1 of the year that follows the later of:

1. The calendar year in which you reach age 70 1/2, or
2. The calendar year in which you retire.

However, your plan may require you to begin to receive distributions by April 1 of the year that follows the year in which you reach age 70 1/2, even if you have not retired.

For this purpose, a qualified retirement plan includes a:

1. Qualified employee plan,
2. Qualified employee annuity plan,
3. Section 457 deferred compensation plan, or
4. Tax-sheltered annuity plans (for benefits accruing after 1986).

Age 70 1/2. You reach age 70 1/2 on the date that is 6 calendar months after the date of your 70th birthday.

For example, if you are retired and your 70th birthday was on July 1, 2000, you were age 70 1/2 on January 1, 2001. Your required beginning date is April 1, 2002. If your 70th birthday was on June 30, 2000, you were age 70 1/2 on December 30, 2000, and your required beginning date is April 1, 2001, unless you had not yet retired.

5% owners. If you are a 5% owner of the company maintaining your qualified retirement plan, you must begin to receive distributions by April 1 of the calendar year that follows the year in which you reach age 70 1/2, regardless of when you retire.

Required distributions. By the required beginning date, as explained above, you must either:

1. Receive your entire interest in the plan (for a tax-sheltered annuity, your entire benefit accruing after 1986), or
2. Begin receiving periodic distributions in annual amounts calculated to distribute your entire interest (for a tax-sheltered annuity, your entire benefit accruing after 1986) over your life or life expectancy or over the joint lives or joint life expectancies of you and a designated beneficiary (or over a shorter period).

Additional information. For more information on this rule and how to figure the required amount to be distributed, see Tax on Excess Accumulation in Publication 575.

Required distributions not made. If you do not receive required minimum distributions, you are subject to an additional excise tax. The tax equals 50% of the difference between the amount that must be distributed and the amount that was distributed during the tax year. You can get this excise tax waived if you establish that the shortfall in distributions was due to reasonable error and that you are taking reasonable steps to remedy the shortfall.

State insurer delinquency proceedings. You might not receive the minimum distribution because of state insurer delinquency proceedings for an insurance company. If your payments are reduced below the minimum due to these proceedings, you should contact your plan administrator. Under certain conditions, you will not have to pay the excise tax.

Form 5329. You must file a Form 5329 if you owe a tax because you did not receive a minimum required distribution from your qualified retirement plan.

Previous| First | Next

Publication Index | IRS-Forms Main | Home