Craig Wear, CFP®Craig Wear, CFP® | Expert in Roth Conversions & Tax-Efficient Retirement Strategies for IRA Millionaires

Waiting until 72 to withdraw your retirement money? Probably a mistake.

20 Aug 2025 · 1 min

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Craig Wear, CFP® argues that waiting until age 72 to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) often increases your lifetime tax bill and benefits the government, not the retiree. He advises that withdrawals can begin as early as age 59½ without penalty and that taking money earlier can be a smart tax-management strategy to reduce future taxes and retain control.

Questions this video answers

59½ years old.

72 years old.

Chapters

Waiting until 72 to withdraw retirement money. Probably a bad move. So everyone says to wait until 72 years old for required minimum distributions or RMDs, but guess what? That's exactly what Uncle Sam of the tax code wants you to do. Because the longer you wait, the bigger the tax bill. So it's not about helping you, it's about collecting more tax. You can actually start taking withdrawals at 59 and a half years old without any penalties. And sometimes taking money out early is a smart move, especially if you want to stay in control and reduce future taxes.