For a 401(k) plan with a former employer, the employer taking the entire RMD provides the individual with the opportunity to to realize the income or not to the employee's best advantage. The individual can later in the same year do a Roth conversion from the traditional pre-tax 401(k) account to reach the same taxable result as the individual would have had if the former employee had been given the opportunity to select the account from which the distribution was to be taken. Even if the Roth conversion is done the following year the taxable result is similar except that the taxable income is realized the following year. I would be much more annoyed if the former employer forced the distribution out of the traditional pre-tax account because in that case there would be no way for the individual to adjust the taxable result after the fact.
The employee can also proactively specify particular distributions needed to satisfy the RMD before the employer forces out the RMD automatically and avoid an automatic distribution altogether.
