Looking at RMDs in Retirement? 3 Tips to Manage Them.

There are a few downsides of having your retirement savings in a traditional IRA or 401(k). First, you'll have to deal with taxes on the money you withdraw. Secondly, you may not get to decide when to take withdrawals.

Once you're old enough to be subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs), the IRS will effectively force you to withdraw money from your retirement savings or otherwise face a steep penalty -- 25% of whatever sum you fail to remove. So blowing off RMDs isn't a good option.