Be prepared for those RMDs

You might not think that 70 ½ represents any particular milestone. But when you do reach this age, you will have to make some decisions that affect an important aspect of your life — your retirement income.

Here’s the background: Once you turn 70 ½, you will need to start taking withdrawals from your 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan and from your traditional IRA (but not your Roth IRA). Actually, you will need to begin these withdrawals — known as “required minimum distributions” (RMDs) — by April 1 of the following year and continue taking them by December 31 each year aft...