For most of my career in federal benefits, the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age was 70½, then 72, then 73. SECURE 2.0, signed into law in December 2022, nudged it again. If you have heard that the RMD age is now 75 and are not entirely sure when that applies to you, you are not alone. The schedule depends on the year you were born.

The RMD rules apply to your TraditionalTSP balance. They have never applied to your Roth TSP balance during the original owner’s lifetime (we will cover that in a separate article). So the practical question is: at what age does the IRS force you to start drawing down the pre-tax side of your TSP?

The schedule, plain.

SECURE 2.0 (Section 107 of the Act) raised the RMD age in two steps:

  • For individuals who reach age 72 after December 31, 2022, and reach age 73 before January 1, 2033, the RMD age is 73.
  • For individuals who reach age 74 after December 31, 2032 (i.e., born in 1960 or later), the RMD age is 75.

Translated to birth years, the practical schedule is:

  • Born 1950 or earlier:RMD age was already 72 (or 70½ if you reached 70½ before January 1, 2020).
  • Born 1951–1959: RMD age is 73.
  • Born 1960 or later: RMD age is 75.

If you were born in 1960, your RMD age is 75. You reach 75 in 2035, which is your first possible RMD year under the new rule. The first distribution must be taken by April 1 of the year following the year you reach RMD age.

What changed for federal employees specifically.

Before SECURE 2.0, many federal employees faced the awkward reality of being forced to take TSP RMDs while still working — past age 70½ and even 72, in some cases. Under current rules, most federal employees still working past their RMD age can defer TSP RMDs until they actually separate from service, if they are still in a status that receives agency contributions.

That “still-working exception” is one of the most underused federal benefits in existence. It is also the answer to the most common question I get from older federal employees who are terrified of being forced to draw down their TSP before they are ready.

How the calculation works once you start.

Once you are required to take RMDs (or choose to start withdrawals), the annual amount is calculated by dividing your Traditional TSP balance as of December 31 of the prior year by the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table factor for your age that year. The factors are designed to fully distribute the account over a single life expectancy.

The TSP does the math for you, once you start taking installments or partial withdrawals. The figure shows up in your account statement and is reported to the IRS on Form 1099-R. What you actually dowith that number — whether you take it all from one fund, whether you combine it with a Roth withdrawal strategy, whether you use it to satisfy part of your required minimum without triggering IRMAA brackets — is where the planning gets interesting.

What the higher RMD age does not do.

It does not eliminate RMDs. It does not reduce the penalty for missing one (still 25% of the shortfall, reducible to 10% if corrected within the correction window). It does not change your Social Security full retirement age. It does not affect the Roth RMD rules. And it does not by itself fix the most common problem federal retirees face with TSP RMDs, which is taking them in a way that pushes them into higher IRMAA brackets, higher marginal tax brackets, or both.

What it does give you is time. Two more years of tax-deferred growth, in many cases, on a six- or seven-figure Traditional TSP balance. That is not a small gift.