For defined contribution plan participants, or IRA owners, who die after December 31, 2019, (with a delayed effective date for certain collectively bargained plans), the SECURE Act requires the entire balance of the participant's account be distributed within ten years. This 10-year rule has an exception for a surviving spouse, a child who has not reached the age of majority, a disabled or chronically ill person or a person not more than ten years younger than the employee or IRA account owner. The new 10-year rule applies regardless of whether the participant dies before, on, or after, the required beginning date. The required beginning date is the date an account owner must take their first RMD., Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are the minimum amounts you must withdraw from your retirement accounts each year. You generally must start taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and retirement plan accounts when you reach age 73., If you're turning age 73 this year, it's time to start taking the annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as traditional IRAs. The penalty for not taking your RMD can be pretty steep: The IRS will levy a penalty amounting to 25% of the sum you should have withdrawn..