Now that required minimum distributions from retirement accounts are back for 2021 after being waived in 2020, you should look before you leap if you’ll owe RMDs this year. I’ll outline three commonly overlooked strategies by many retirement advisors, investment advisors, and financial consultants alike, that are good for you to at least know about especially if you own a large IRA. Note that this recommendation applies not only to most account owners who are 72 or older in 2021 but also to retirement account beneficiaries subject to RMDs.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts were suspended in 2020, as part of the federal government’s effort to keep the economy afloat despite medical and financial turmoil. Now they’re back, so most people who are 72 or older in 2021 will have to take at least as much as IRS tables dictate from their retirement accounts this year, and pay the resulting tax. Many IRA owners delay RMDs until yearend, but there are good reasons to act sooner rather than later.