Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) Plans: Early Withdrawals and Required Distributions. CRS Report for Congress (Updated October 27, 2008)

摘要

In the interest of encouraging workers to save for retirement, Congress has authorized several kinds of retirement savings plans that qualify for reduced or deferred income taxes. These plans provide a financial incentive for people to save, either by allowing workers and employers to deduct from income the amount they contribute to the plan or to take tax-free distributions from the plan after they retire. This CRS Report summarizes the provisions of law that govern the taxes applicable to pre-retirement distributions from retirement accounts, and the situations in which distributions must be taken from a plan in order to avoid a tax penalty. Because tax-deductible contributions to retirement plans and deferral of taxes on investment earnings reduce federal income tax collections, Congress has placed limits on the amount that can be contributed to these plans each year. To assure that the tax preferences granted to retirement accounts are used to promote retirement income security rather than to subsidize transfers of wealth from one generation to the next, federal law requires owners of retirement accounts that are funded with tax deductible contributions to begin taking required minimum distributions from the accounts after they reach age 70 and l/2.