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Updated July 31, 2026. Quick answer: nine ages govern retirement money, and each is a different KIND of deadline — some are exact dates, some are calendar years, one is a 7-month window, and one depends on your birth year. The chart, with each age linked to its full rule:
Related reading on this site: Form SSA-1-BK retirement application.
| Age | What unlocks or triggers | The kind of clock |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | Catch-up contributions | Calendar year you turn 50 |
| 55 | Rule of 55 401(k) access (separation required; IRA rollover destroys it) | Calendar year |
| 59½ | Early-withdrawal penalty ends | Exact half-birthday |
| 60–63 | Super catch-up contribution years | Calendar years |
| 62 | Earliest (reduced) Social Security — the breakeven decision | Birthday, with first-check quirks |
| 65 | Medicare Initial Enrollment; HSA’s non-medical penalty ends | 7-month window |
| 66–67 | Social Security Full Retirement Age | Birth-year table |
| 70 | Delayed SS credits stop — claiming later buys nothing | Birthday |
| 70½ | Qualified charitable distributions unlock | Exact half-birthday |
| 73 or 75 | RMDs begin — 73 if born 1951–1959 (1959 fixed by the 2024 regs), 75 if 1960+ | Birth-year rule + April 1 first deadline |
The reason the “kind of clock” column exists: mixing them up is where the money goes. Treating the rule of 55 as a birthday, 59½ as a year, or the Medicare window as forgiving are the three classic versions. Compute your personal dates for all ten in one click.
Ten clocks, four kinds. A plan sequences them.
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