Vanguard says millions of elderly retirees are making a critical mistake that leads to tax penalties

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• Many Vanguard clients in their 70s and above missed required minimum distributions from retirement accounts in 2024.
• Missing RMDs can lead to tax penalties of between 10% and 25% the required amount.
• Vanguard suggests automating withdrawals and consolidating accounts to avoid missed RMDs.

A substantial number of elderly, retirement-age investors are failing to take required minimum distributions, or RMDs, a new Vanguard report shows.