Clear Money Guide
What this guide covers
A quick view of the questions and evidence developed below.
Updated July 31, 2026. Quick answer: the order you draw accounts down is the largest recurring tax lever in retirement, and the conventional answer – taxable first, then tax-deferred, then Roth – is a starting point rather than a rule. It ignores the low-bracket years before required distributions begin, which are usually the best conversion window you will ever have, and it ignores the bracket and Medicare-premium cliffs that make income partly a choice. Once required distributions start at 73, the choice narrows: the RMD comes out whether you want it or not, and it stacks under everything else. If you need money before 59 and a half, a 72(t) schedule is the escape hatch, and it is unforgiving once started.
The withdrawal rules for a 401(k) specifically: the 401(k) withdrawal rules.
Withdrawal order
- Retirement Withdrawal Order Calculator (This Year)
- The ‘Taxable First’ Rule Is Not Always Right
- Why Roth Comes Last
- Withdrawal Order and IRMAA Brackets
- Withdrawal Order Before Social Security Starts
- Withdrawal Order in a Low-Income Year
- Withdrawal Order While Doing Roth Conversions
- Withdrawal Order Once RMDs Have Started
Optional next step
Want help with this decision?
Ask an adviser how this choice fits your broader retirement and financial plan.
- No fee to request a match
- No obligation to hire
Expect questions about your situation, your name, email and phone, and phone verification by text. A match is not guaranteed.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
Opens here. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
How our partner relationships workRequired minimum distributions
- The One-Time Switch to the RMD Method (2026)
- Can You Combine Inherited and Own RMDs? (2026)
- You Missed Your Own RMD (2026)
- Using a QLAC to Reduce RMDs (2026)
- Reducing RMDs Before They Start (2026)
- Which Retirement Accounts Can You Aggregate for RMDs? (2026)
- RMD Basics (Age 73–75)
- Your RMD in the Year You Retire (2026)
- Roth 401(k)s No Longer Have RMDs (2026)
- The Still-Working Exception to RMDs (2026)
Withdrawing before 59 and a half
- How Long a 72(t) Schedule Must Run (2026)
- The Interest Rate Used in a 72(t) Calculation (2026)
- The Three SEPP Calculation Methods (2026)
- 72(t) or a Roth Conversion Ladder? (2026)
- What Happens If You Bust a 72(t) Schedule (2026)
- The Other Exceptions to the 10% Penalty (2026)
- Why the Rule of 55 Doesn’t Work for IRAs (2026)
- Rule of 55 vs 72(t): Which Applies to You (2026)
- Split the IRA Before Starting a 72(t) (2026)
Other withdrawal questions
Related guides
Equity Compensation · Trusts · Roth Conversions · Settling an Estate · Inherited IRA Rules · Business Owner Retirement and Exit · Social Security Timing · When a Spouse Dies · Pension and Annuity Decisions · Charitable Giving and Tax · Divorce and Your Money · Home Sale Taxes · Life Insurance Decisions · IRMAA · Long-Term Care Planning · Research · All guides