“I Was Really Hoping Not to Have to Work That Long.” A Late-Start Saver Confronts the Age 73 RMD Reality on The Ramsey Show On the April 22, 2026 episode of The Ramsey Show titled “Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck, Start Living With Options”, a caller laid out a fear many late…
arters share but rarely voice: “I did start a 401k in October… And so there’s only about 2400 in that. I mean, I don’t know if I’m supposed to be, you know, I know you’re supposed to do something with it at 73 years old, but I was really hoping not to have to work that long.” She had wrapped two anxieties into one sentence
The first is real: a 401(k) balance of $2,400 leaves her far short of a retirement plan. The second is a misunderstanding that steers people into bad decisions: the idea that age 73 is a deadline you must work toward. It is not.
Acting on that belief can lead you to delay affordable retirement or panic-save in tax-inefficient ways. 73 is a tax deadline for distributions The caller’s instinct that something happens at 73 is correct. What happens is a Required Minimum Distribution. Under SECURE Act 2.0, traditional 401(k) and IRA holders must begin withdrawing money at age 73.