Should I consider a monthly pension an RMD upon turning 73 in 2025 and taking the first RMD in Sept 2025?

[Wedding5500]

Hello,

My husband turned 73 in Sept. 2025.  He receives two monthly pensions from the employers he retired from.   He also has an IRA that we took an RMD from in Sept after he turned 73. 

I was told by someone at TT that ALL pensions should be considered RMD's upon turning 73.  In going through the TT interview, this question is throwing me off:

"If your <Company>  account was subject to a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), we need to know the amount that was required to be distributed by December 31, 2025 from this <Company>  account.

Do not include RMDs which are due on April 1. RMDs for the first year you're required to take a distribution are generally due on April 1."

QUESTION:  Because he just turned 73 in 2025 and this is his first RMD and he had until April 1st of 2026 to take it, should I NOT put the pension dollar amount in and just ignore this interview question until next tax year?  If I should ignore it for the two pensions, do I do the same for his actual IRA RMD, or should I list that dollar amount?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

[DaveF1006]

Just to clarify, the advice you got from TurboTax was technically correct, but it may have been confusing in this situation. Here’s how to handle your pensions and IRA.

Since you already took the IRA distribution in September 2025, you must report it now. You cannot "ignore" it until next year because the money was physically moved in the 2025 calendar year. When TurboTax asks how much of that distribution was an RMD, you enter the amount that was required for 2025. Usually, an RMD requirement is listed on a disclosure statement or you may need to contact the IRA custodian to find out what the RMD requirement was for the year.

As far as the two pension distributions, the pension is a steady stream of payments mandated by the plan, it automatically satisfies the RMD requirement for that specific account.

1. Do you need to calculate an RMD for a pension? No.
2. Is it reported as an RMD in the software? Generally, no. In the TurboTax interview, when it asks "Was this a Required Minimum Distribution?" for a standard monthly pension (1099-R), you should typically answer Yes, but then when it asks how much of it was an RMD, the answer is all of it.
3. The "April 1" Rule: This does not apply to monthly pensions. Since he is already receiving the payments, the "distribution" is happening automatically. You simply report the 1099-R as it is written.

[Wedding5500]

@DaveF1006 

Thank you for your response!

What really threw me off was when it said NOT to include RMDs which are due on April 1st. "RMDs for the first year you're required to take a distribution are generally due on April 1."  I'm assuming I would have left this IRA RMD off if he had not take it until April 2026?

Ok, I will add that IRA RMD back in since he took it shortly after turning 73 in 2025.  The amount he took was the actual RMD - I have all the paperwork.

For the pensions, I've always just listed them, but knew this year might be different due to him turning 73 in 2025.  He has one pension where Box 1 and 2a are the same, so I know what to do there.  His Federal OPM pension has different amounts in Box 1 and 2a because he has non-taxable contributions he's recovering - do I use the Gross distribution (box 1) amount, or the Taxable Amount (box 2a)?

Thanks so much for your help!

[DaveF1006]

You would use the Taxable Amount (Box 2a). This represents the portion that actually impacts his adjusted gross income (AGI) and his tax liability.

[Wedding5500]

Thank you @DaveF1006, I had no idea RMD’s were based off the taxable amounts. I would have chosen Box 1, so thank you for the clarification, it’s much appreciated.