By law, the distributions from the federal civil service pension, like any qualified pension, are required distributions, calculated to meet the required minimums, so they meet the legal definition of an RMD. Since none of the information in the numbered boxes of Form 1099-R identifies the distribution as being from a pension, TurboTax always asks the RMD questions for someone age 70½ or over (age 72 beginning with the 2020 tax year). These are RMDs even though they are not typically referred to as such outside of determining whether or not the distributions are eligible for rollover, and determining whether or not the distributions are eligible for rollover is the reason that TurboTax asks the RMD questions. TurboTax blocks reporting as rolled over any amount that is not eligible for rollover because it is a required distribution.
No numbers from years back have anything to do with the RMD questions. The numbers from years back are only asked if you choose to use the Simplified Method to determine the taxable amount of a distribution when the taxable amount in box 2a of Form 1099-R is incorrect or undetermined, and only if you made after-tax contributions to the pension that have not yet been fully recovered such that a portion of the distribution is indeed nontaxable.
