You could avoid the RMD increasing your AGI by making a Qualified Charitable Distribution to satisfy your RMD. However, QCDs are only permitted to be amde from IRAs, not from qualified retirement plans like a 401(k), so you would have to satisfy the RMD for the 401(k) before rolling the 401(k) over to a traditional IRA so that QCDs could be used to satisfy IRA RMDs for future years.
