TSP Required Minimum Distributions: What Federal Employees Need to Know in 2026

SECURE 2.0 changed TSP RMD rules in two important ways: your traditional TSP RMD age is now 73 or 75 depending on your birth year, and your Roth TSP has no lifetime RMDs at all. Here's how the rules work, how to calculate your RMD, and how to structure withdrawals to minimize the tax hit.

Two rules every federal employee must know first

Rule 1: Traditional TSP has RMDs. Roth TSP does not (during your lifetime).
SECURE 2.0 § 325 eliminated lifetime required minimum distributions on Roth balances in employer plans — including Roth TSP — effective January 1, 2024.¹ Your RMD calculation and obligation apply only to your traditional (pre-tax) TSP balance. If your entire TSP is Roth, you have no lifetime RMD obligation from TSP at all.

Rule 2: If you're still working for the federal government, your TSP RMDs can wait.
Unlike IRAs — where RMDs are mandatory at your RMD age regardless of employment status — TSP follows employer-plan rules under IRC § 401(a)(9)(C). Your required beginning date is April 1 following the later of: (a) the year you reach your RMD age, or (b) the year you separate from federal service.² A federal employee still working at 74 owes no TSP RMD. This deferral window disappears the moment you roll to an IRA — IRA RMDs are mandatory at your RMD age with no still-employed exception.

When do TSP RMDs start?

Under SECURE 2.0 § 107, your RMD starting age depends on your birth year:³

The required beginning date (RBD) — the absolute deadline for your first RMD — is April 1 of the year after you reach your RMD age (or separate from service, if later). Taking your first RMD by April 1 instead of December 31 means you'll have two RMDs that tax year: the delayed first-year distribution and your second-year RMD. Most federal employees in higher income brackets prefer to take the first RMD by December 31 to avoid the income pile-up.

How to calculate your TSP RMD

The calculation is straightforward:

RMD = December 31 TSP traditional balance ÷ IRS Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for your age this year

The divisor comes from IRS Table III (Uniform Lifetime Table), published in IRS Publication 590-B.⁴ The table was last updated in 2022 and applies to all years from 2022 forward, including 2026. You use your age as of your birthday in the current distribution year. Key divisors:

Because the divisor shrinks each year and your balance changes, your RMD amount is recalculated fresh every year.

TSP RMD calculator

How TSP installment payments handle your RMD automatically

TSP offers two installment payment methods post-separation, and one of them auto-satisfies your RMD obligation each year:⁵

• Life expectancy-based installments: TSP divides your traditional balance each year by your IRS life expectancy factor from the Uniform Lifetime Table and sends you that amount. Because it uses the same table as the RMD rules, these payments satisfy your annual RMD automatically — no manual calculation or separate distribution required. The payment amount recalculates each year.
• Fixed-dollar installments: You specify the dollar amount. This satisfies your RMD only if the fixed amount equals or exceeds your calculated RMD for the year. If your TSP grows faster than the fixed amount depletes it, the fixed payment may eventually fall below your RMD — TSP will top it up automatically, but it's worth rechecking periodically.

If you have not set up installment payments, TSP will send you a notice each year you are subject to an RMD, and you can take a single withdrawal to satisfy the obligation. You cannot leave the RMD in the account — TSP will distribute it automatically by year-end if you don't initiate it yourself.

Roth TSP: no lifetime RMDs — but inherited Roth TSP has rules

SECURE 2.0 § 325 eliminated all lifetime RMDs on Roth employer plan balances — including Roth TSP — starting January 1, 2024. If you have $400,000 in Roth TSP at 75, you owe zero RMD on that amount during your lifetime. The balance can compound indefinitely. This makes large Roth TSP balances particularly valuable for estate planning: you get no forced distributions, and your heirs inherit the account.

However, heirs who inherit your Roth TSP are not exempt from the inherited account rules:

• Spouse inheriting TSP: A surviving spouse can roll the Roth TSP into their own Roth IRA — which has no RMDs during their lifetime. This is the cleanest result for spousal inheritance.
• Non-spouse eligible designated beneficiaries (minor children, disabled individuals, chronically ill): May take distributions over their own life expectancy under the Single Life Table.
• Non-spouse non-eligible beneficiaries (adult children, siblings, etc.): Subject to the 10-year rule under SECURE Act 2019. Inherited Roth TSP must be fully distributed by December 31 of the 10th year after the year of death. Under T.D. 10001 (finalized July 2024), if the TSP owner had already reached their required beginning date, beneficiaries in this category must also take annual RMDs in years 1–9 (not just a lump sum in year 10).⁶ Note: for Roth TSP, the owner never has a required beginning date (no lifetime RMDs), so this annual-RMD-within-10-years rule likely does not apply to inherited Roth TSP balances — but confirm this with a tax professional, as IRS guidance on this specific intersection is still evolving.

RMD reduction strategies for federal employees

A large TSP balance generates large RMDs — taxed as ordinary income, layered on top of your FERS pension and Social Security. The strategies most applicable to federal employees:

1. Roth conversions during the pre-RMD window

Every dollar converted from traditional TSP or traditional IRA to Roth shrinks your future RMD base. For federal employees who retire at 55–62 on FERS supplement income, before Social Security starts, there's often a multi-year window where marginal tax rates are unusually low. Converting $30,000–$60,000 per year in this window can meaningfully reduce future RMDs. TSP now allows in-plan Roth conversions (effective January 28, 2026), so you can convert traditional TSP directly without rolling to an IRA first. See our TSP in-plan Roth conversion guide.

2. Still-employed deferral

If you continue working, your TSP RMDs are deferred until you separate, regardless of age. Every year you delay separation is a year the traditional TSP grows without forced distributions. This can be a meaningful factor in deciding when to retire for those born 1960+ who would otherwise face RMDs at 75.

3. Partial rollover to Roth IRA

Rolling a portion of your traditional TSP to a traditional IRA, then immediately converting that traditional IRA balance to Roth, reduces your TSP traditional balance (and future RMDs). This is the classic Roth ladder strategy. You pay tax now to eliminate forced distributions later. The math works best when current marginal rates are lower than expected future rates — which is often true during the FERS supplement years.

4. TSP annuity (converts RMD obligation into a fixed payment)

Annuitizing a portion of your TSP with MetLife eliminates that balance from future RMD calculations — but the decision is irrevocable. The annuity payment itself satisfies the RMD for the annuitized portion. Whether this makes sense depends on your health, whether you have a surviving spouse, and the annuity interest rate environment. See our TSP life annuity guide.

RMD excise tax if you miss a distribution

If you don't take your full RMD by the required deadline, the IRS imposes an excise tax on the shortfall. SECURE 2.0 reduced this penalty from 50% to 25% of the missed amount.⁷ If you correct the missed RMD within two years (take the missed amount and file IRS Form 5329), the excise tax further reduces to 10%. TSP will generally auto-distribute your RMD if you haven't taken it, but if you've rolled balances out to IRAs — where there's no auto-distribution — the responsibility is yours.

What a specialist models for you

TSP RMD planning is not just about calculating a table. For federal employees with $600K–$2M in TSP, the questions that matter most are:

• What is the Roth conversion amount each year — from retirement to RMD start — that fills my bracket without triggering IRMAA?
• Should I keep traditional TSP for the still-employed exception (deferral window) or roll to an IRA for more Roth conversion flexibility?
• How does my FERS pension + Social Security income floor determine whether in-plan Roth conversions or IRA conversions are more tax-efficient?
• How do state taxes interact with federal taxation of large TSP RMDs? (Some states exempt pensions but tax TSP distributions — see our state income tax guide.)
• What does my total income look like at 73 or 75 — and is my IRMAA exposure in that year manageable?

The answer to each of these questions changes the tax picture by thousands of dollars per year. A fee-only advisor who focuses on federal employees builds a multi-year distribution plan — not just a single RMD calculation — so you're not paying more than necessary in any year.

Sources

1. SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 § 325. Eliminated lifetime RMDs on Roth employer plan balances (including Roth TSP) effective January 1, 2024. Only distributions from traditional (pre-tax) balances count toward satisfying the RMD obligation.
2. IRS — Retirement Topics: Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). Covers the still-employed exception under IRC § 401(a)(9)(C): qualified plan participants can delay RMDs while still employed, unlike IRA owners.
3. SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 § 107. RMD starting age 73 for those born 1951–1959; age 75 for those born 1960 or later. Effective for distributions after December 29, 2022.
4. IRS Publication 590-B (2025 edition). Appendix B, Table III — Uniform Lifetime Table. Updated 2022, applicable for distributions in 2022 and later. Divisors cited: age 73 = 26.5, age 75 = 24.6, age 80 = 20.2, age 90 = 12.2.
5. TSP.gov — SECURE 2.0 and the TSP. Confirms Roth TSP no-lifetime-RMD rule, life expectancy-based installment payment method, and traditional-balance-only RMD calculation.
6. T.D. 10001 (IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-33). Finalized rules for inherited IRAs and employer plan accounts when the original owner died after their required beginning date: non-eligible designated beneficiaries must take annual RMDs in years 1–9 in addition to fully distributing by year 10. Effective for distributions in 2025 and later.
7. IRS — RMD FAQs. SECURE 2.0 reduced the missed-RMD excise tax from 50% to 25%, further reduced to 10% with timely correction within the two-year correction window.

ULT divisors and RMD age thresholds verified as of May 2026. SECURE 2.0 rules cited reflect law as enacted December 2022, with Roth-plan-RMD elimination effective January 1, 2024. T.D. 10001 annual-RMD rules for inherited accounts effective for distributions starting 2025. Consult a fee-only financial advisor and CPA for advice specific to your situation.