Gold IRAs in Your 70s and RMD Timing in California

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Last updated: July 3, 2026 · By Gold California Editorial

This page is written for California savers in their 70s who hold, or are considering, a self-directed precious-metals IRA. The federal rules on RMDs and gold IRAs are national. California adds a state tax layer on top and preserves a large Social Security subtraction that changes the after-tax picture.

The 70s bracket is dominated by four planning inputs. Required minimum distributions begin at age 73. The Uniform Lifetime Table sets the yearly amount. In-kind distributions from a physical-metal account behave differently than cash. And the Medicare IRMAA lookback continues to track your income two years back. Every figure below traces to an IRS, FTB, CalPERS, CalSTRS, UCnet or DFPI source, cited inline.

Why your 70s change the gold IRA math

Your 70s cross the line where an IRA stops being optional and becomes a taxable event on a yearly schedule. Age 73 is the current SECURE 2.0 start line. Age 75 becomes the start line for owners born in 1960 or later, beginning in 2033 (source: IRS RMD FAQs).

The account structure does not change when you turn 73. The gold IRA is still a self-directed traditional or Roth IRA holding IRS-approved coins or bars at an approved depository (source: IRS Publication 590-B). What changes is the yearly requirement to move part of the traditional balance out of the wrapper and into taxable income.

Two account types respond differently. A traditional gold IRA is subject to RMDs starting at age 73 today. A Roth gold IRA has no lifetime RMD on the original owner's account, which shapes whether a Roth conversion earlier in your 70s makes sense.

California layers ordinary income tax on the traditional distribution at rates up to 12.3%, plus a 1% Mental Health Services Tax on taxable income above $1,000,000, for a top combined 13.3% at the state layer (source: FTB Publication 1005). Social Security remains fully subtracted from California AGI on Schedule CA 540, regardless of what your RMD adds to federal AGI.

Age 73 today, 75 from 2033: who starts when

SECURE 2.0 set two RMD start ages. Owners born from 1951 through 1959 begin RMDs at age 73. Owners born in 1960 or later begin at age 75, starting in 2033 (source: IRS RMD FAQs; Congressional Research Service IF12750).

Final IRS regulations confirm that owners born in 1959 begin at 73, not 75. That was the last ambiguous year at the boundary of the two rules, and the IRS resolved it on the earlier side.

A single life event does not change the rule. A gold IRA holder who turned 73 in 2026 uses the age-73 line, whether the account is a rollover from a former 401(k) or a decade-old self-directed IRA already holding bullion.

Sources: IRS RMD FAQs; IRS Publication 590-B; Congressional Research Service IF12750. Checked July 2026. Final IRS regulations confirm those born in 1959 begin RMDs at 73. Roth IRAs have no lifetime RMD on the original owner's account.

Your first RMD deadline and the April 1 window

The IRS states the first-year rule directly: "You must take your first required minimum distribution for the year in which you reach age 73. However, you can delay taking the first RMD until April 1 of the following year" (source: IRS RMD FAQs).

The April 1 delay applies only to the first RMD. Every RMD after that is due by December 31 of the RMD year. Delaying the first RMD stacks two full-year RMDs into one calendar year: the deferred first RMD taken by April 1, and the second RMD taken by December 31 of that same year.

Stacking two RMDs in one calendar year is exactly the input that swells federal AGI. That swelled AGI then feeds California AGI, and it feeds the Medicare IRMAA lookback for the premium year that lands two years later.

Sometimes the delay makes sense. A saver retiring mid-year at 73 with lower wages the following year might see a lower blended tax by delaying. Other times the stack is worse than paying the first RMD on time. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.

The Uniform Lifetime Table on a physical-metal IRA

The yearly RMD amount is a division problem. Divide the December 31 balance from the prior year by the applicable divisor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) in Appendix B of Publication 590-B. The result is the RMD for the current year (source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B).

Most account owners use Table III (the Uniform Lifetime Table). The exception is an IRA whose sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger than the owner; that owner uses Table II (Joint and Last Survivor) instead, which produces a smaller RMD.

The divisor shrinks each year as you age. Age 73 uses 26.5, age 75 uses 24.6, and age 80 uses 20.2. The dollar amount you must take out rises even if the account balance stays flat.

On a physical-metal IRA, the "balance" the custodian reports on Form 5498 Box 5 each year is the fair market value of the coins or bars at year-end (source: IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498). That value is what the RMD math divides.

Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B, Uniform Lifetime Table III. Checked July 2026. Use Table II instead if the sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger than the account owner.

Cash RMD versus in-kind RMD from a gold IRA

The RMD dollar amount is fixed by the table. The way you satisfy it is a choice between two operational paths: cash or in-kind. Both create ordinary income; each has different friction.

Cash RMD. The custodian tells the depository to release bullion, the dealer sells it at market, and the cash proceeds are wired to your bank. The IRS taxable amount is the cash you received. The friction sits in the dealer spread; two-sided spreads (the difference between the dealer's buy and sell prices) reduce the net cash you keep.

In-kind RMD. The custodian ships the physical coins or bars from the depository to your home or to a chosen private-storage arrangement. The IRS taxable amount is the fair market value on the distribution date, reported on Form 1099-R (source: IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498). You still owe the ordinary income tax on that value, but you keep the physical metal.

Which path fits depends on cash flow, spread, and whether you want the metal outside the retirement wrapper. Neither path avoids tax; both are ordinary income at your federal bracket plus your California bracket.

How California taxes an RMD from a gold IRA

California taxes an RMD as ordinary income at the same brackets as any other income. The FTB does not offer a preferential capital-gains rate on physical-metal gains inside a retirement account, so the "collectibles" federal 28% capital-gains rate on outside-IRA metal does not touch the RMD (source: FTB, Capital gains and losses).

The 2026 California brackets top at 12.3%, with the 1% Mental Health Services Tax layered on taxable income above $1,000,000 for a top combined 13.3%. A single filer in San Francisco at $110,000 California taxable income sits in the 9.3% bracket for the incremental RMD dollar; a joint filer at $180,000 sits there too (source: FTB Publication 1005).

Federal ordinary tax applies separately at your federal marginal bracket. The 10% federal early-distribution tax and the 2.5% California additional tax on FTB Form 3805P are already off the table at age 73, because those two additional taxes apply only before age 59.5.

Qualified Charitable Distributions from age 70.5

The Qualified Charitable Distribution is one of the few mechanisms that shifts an IRA distribution out of taxable income entirely, at both the federal and the California layer. It is available from age 70.5, before RMDs even begin (source: IRS Publication 590-B).

The IRS states the mechanic directly. The maximum annual exclusion is $108,000 for 2025 and is indexed for inflation under SECURE 2.0. A joint filer with an eligible spouse can each exclude up to $108,000 from their own IRAs. QCDs count toward the RMD for the year.

Because the QCD amount is excluded from federal AGI, it never enters California AGI either. California conforms to the federal treatment of IRA distributions through AGI, so the charitable slice never appears on Schedule CA 540. The state tax on that slice is $0.

The route works only if the money goes directly from the IRA custodian to a qualifying 501(c)(3) charity. A personal check made out of an RMD and forwarded to a charity is not a QCD; it is a taxable distribution followed by a charitable contribution, which is far less tax-efficient.

Worth knowing: a QCD is one of the few dials that both reduces ordinary income and reduces MAGI for IRMAA at the same time. When a large 73-year-old RMD would otherwise push you into a higher Medicare premium tier two years later, redirecting part of the RMD as a QCD can hold the tier without changing your gross giving budget.

Roth conversions in your 70s and the last window

A Roth conversion moves pre-tax dollars from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. The converted amount is taxed as ordinary income the year you convert, at both federal and California layers (source: 26 U.S.C. Section 408A).

Two rules cut against a large Roth conversion at 73 or later. First, the current-year RMD must be taken before any conversion. IRS Publication 590-B is explicit: the RMD is not eligible for rollover, so you cannot convert the RMD dollars themselves. Second, the conversion year adds the converted amount to MAGI, which pushes the two-year-later IRMAA tier up.

What still works. A modest partial conversion at 73, 74 or 75, sized to fit inside the current federal and California bracket without cresting an IRMAA tier, converts a slice of the traditional balance to a Roth that has no lifetime RMD. That is genuinely useful when a saver expects a much larger balance to grow into the 80s under the Uniform Lifetime Table divisor pattern.

What almost never works. A large single-year conversion at 74 that stacks two RMDs and pushes joint MAGI far above the top IRMAA tier. The total federal, California, and Medicare premium impact can exceed the projected long-term tax savings.

Social Security and the California subtraction at 73+

California removes any federally taxable Social Security amount on Schedule CA 540 as a subtraction. The FTB states the rule verbatim: "Make an adjustment to exclude any of this income if it was included in your federal AGI. Enter the amount of Social Security income included in your federal adjusted gross income as a subtraction on California Adjustments, Residents (Schedule CA 540)" (source: FTB, Social Security).

The practical result at 73 and beyond: an RMD raises federal AGI, which can pull more of your Social Security into federal taxable income under the IRS Publication 915 provisional income test (source: IRS Publication 915). California never taxes the Social Security piece regardless.

The Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 also matters for California public-sector retirees now in their 70s. It repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset for benefits payable for months after December 2023 (source: Public Law 118-273). CalPERS, CalSTRS, UCRP and other California non-covered pensioners no longer face those reductions, which changes the Social Security figures in older planning worksheets.

Medicare IRMAA still bites at 73 and beyond

Medicare's Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount surcharges Part B and Part D premiums when MAGI clears set thresholds. IRMAA is income-tested on the tax return filed two years before the premium year, and that lookback continues to apply past 73 (source: Medicare, Part B costs).

A large RMD in your age-73 year sets your IRMAA tier for age 75. A large RMD in your age-75 year sets it for age 77. Stacking two RMDs into one calendar year through the April 1 delay compounds the effect, because the higher MAGI sits on a single return.

SSA republishes the tier dollar thresholds in Publication EN-05-10536 (SSA fact sheet). Because those thresholds move each year, we do not print the current amounts here; verify them before running your own model.

A Qualified Charitable Distribution is the strongest countermove because the charitable slice never enters MAGI. Timing the RMD into two smaller pieces across two calendar years (only workable if you delayed the first RMD) is the second-best lever. IRMAA appeals are available for a life-changing event (retirement, divorce, spouse death) via Form SSA-44.

CalPERS, CalSTRS and UCRP RMD interaction

Most California public-sector retirees receive a monthly pension. That monthly pension is not an IRA and cannot be rolled to a gold IRA. RMDs on the pension itself are handled by the plan.

Where the RMD math intersects a gold IRA for public retirees is the refund path. A CalPERS refund of member contributions plus interest, a CalSTRS Defined Benefit refund, or a UCRP Lump Sum Cashout can generally roll to an IRA. That includes a self-directed gold IRA. The member must be permanently separated from service and eligible under plan rules.

CalSTRS notes an RMD interaction on refund applications: members reaching age 73 on or after January 1, 2023 are subject to the RMD calculation on the refund amount. Only the non-RMD portion of the refund can be rolled to an IRA; the RMD-calculated portion must be paid directly to the member and taxed that year (source: CalSTRS Refund Application RF1360).

The pattern is the same as any other RMD stack: the RMD portion is ordinary income at federal and California brackets, feeds MAGI for IRMAA two years later, and cannot be undone by rollover. The rollable balance can then move into a gold IRA if that fits your plan; the RMD portion cannot.

Beneficiary and 10-year rule planning at 70+

Estate planning becomes concrete in your 70s. Two IRA-specific mechanics matter here. First, IRAs pass by beneficiary designation and bypass the will and California probate under Probate Code Section 5000. Second, the SECURE Act 10-year rule sets a 10-year post-death drawdown for most non-spouse beneficiaries of an IRA (source: IRS Publication 590-B).

For a non-spouse designated beneficiary who is not an Eligible Designated Beneficiary, the inherited IRA must be emptied by December 31 of the tenth year after the owner's death. If the owner died on or after the required beginning date, the beneficiary must also take annual distributions during years 1 through 9.

A surviving spouse has more options. The spouse can treat the inherited IRA as their own, roll it into their own IRA, or remain a beneficiary. Each choice has a different RMD schedule; treating it as their own opens the Uniform Lifetime Table based on the survivor's own age.

A gold IRA carries a physical-metal specific wrinkle at death. The bullion stays inside the account at the existing custodian and depository; the custodian re-titles the account "for benefit of" the beneficiary. The beneficiary can keep the metal in the inherited IRA, transfer trustee-to-trustee, or take in-kind distributions.

Opening a gold IRA in your 70s from an existing account

Almost every gold IRA in your 70s is funded by rollover, not new contribution. The 2026 IRA contribution limit is $7,500 with an $1,100 age-50 catch-up (source: IRS Newsroom, IR-2025-111). A traditional IRA contribution requires earned income; a Roth IRA contribution has the same earned-income rule. Most 70s retirees no longer earn wages, so the contribution channel is small.

The rollover path is the operational route. A direct rollover from a former workplace plan or a custodian-to-custodian transfer from an existing IRA into a self-directed IRA with a gold-IRA custodian avoids the 60-day rule and the 20% federal withholding on plan payouts.

1. Confirm your source is eligible. Check that your traditional IRA, former-employer 401(k), 403(b), TSP, governmental 457(b), or eligible California public-pension refund can move to an IRA at your current status.
2. Take any current-year RMD first from the source. The RMD portion is not rollable; only the balance after the RMD can be rolled. This matters at 73 and beyond.
3. Open a self-directed IRA with a gold-IRA custodian. The custodian holds legal title, files IRS Form 5498, and reports distributions on Form 1099-R.
4. Request a direct custodian-to-custodian transfer or a direct plan-to-IRA rollover. Keep money on the wire between institutions to avoid the 60-day risk and the 20% federal withholding on plan payouts.
5. Choose IRS-approved metals. Pick coins or bars meeting the fineness standard (gold .995, silver .999, platinum and palladium .9995), and favor common bullion over premium-priced coins whose markups the CFTC has pursued in fraud cases.
6. Have the depository take physical possession. An IRS-approved depository holds the metal in your account's name at Delaware Depository, IDS of Delaware, IDS of Texas, or Brink's Los Angeles among others. Home storage is treated as a taxable distribution.

What to do if you missed an RMD

The IRS statement on missed RMDs is direct. The excise tax under IRC 4974 is 25% of the amount not withdrawn by the due date. The rate drops to 10% if the missed RMD is corrected within two years (source: IRS RMD FAQs).

The 25% figure is not a marginal rate; it is an excise tax under IRC Section 4974, applied to the missed amount itself. SECURE 2.0 reduced it from the old 50% penalty and added the two-year 10% correction window.

The waiver route is real. The IRS may waive the penalty if you establish that the shortfall was due to reasonable error and reasonable steps are being taken to correct it. The mechanism is Form 5329 with an attached letter of explanation (source: IRS Form 5329).

The practical sequence is: take the missed RMD as soon as possible, file Form 5329 with the current year's return, attach the reasonable-error letter, and hold documentation of what caused the miss. This is a tax matter; a licensed tax advisor should draft the letter and file the form.

When a gold IRA in your 70s is a bad idea

Fit runs both directions, and this section is the honest disqualifier. Being explicit about who the account does not fit saves months of frustration and yearly fee drag.

A gold IRA in your 70s tends not to fit if you will need the money within a few years. Physical metal carries a dealer spread on the way in and on the way out, and short holds struggle to absorb the round-trip cost. If liquidity in the next three to five years is the plan, a cash sleeve or a short-duration bond ladder handles that job better.

It tends not to fit if the account balance is below the typical company minimum. Industry-reported minimums cluster around $50,000. Below that level, yearly custodian and depository fees eat a larger share of the balance every year.

It tends not to fit if a large RMD or a stacked-two-RMD year would push you into a higher IRMAA tier that erases the after-tax benefit. Sometimes the answer is a QCD; sometimes the answer is not opening the account at all.

It tends not to fit if a company is pushing "premium" coins with a markup you cannot see in writing, offering to store metal at your home, or promising a specific price outcome. Home storage of IRA metals is treated as a taxable distribution under IRC 408(m), and no honest company predicts future metal prices.

The Red Rock Secured case sat inside a federal court order for more than $56,000,000 after markups of 91.89% to 129.97% on premium coins sold to retirement savers (source: CFTC Release 8898-24).

Questions Californians in their 70s ask

Do I have to take an RMD from my gold IRA at 73 if I do not need the money?

Yes for a traditional gold IRA. Once you reach age 73 under SECURE 2.0, the yearly RMD is required, whether you need the cash or not. No for a Roth gold IRA; the original owner has no lifetime RMD. If you do not need the cash, look at a Qualified Charitable Distribution: it satisfies the RMD requirement while excluding the charitable slice from federal and California income entirely.

How is the RMD figured on physical metal I never sold?

The custodian reports the fair market value of the bullion at December 31 on Form 5498 Box 5. That year-end value is the account balance for RMD math. You divide it by the applicable Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for your age in the RMD year to get the dollar amount you must distribute.

The metal itself does not have to be sold. You can meet the RMD in-kind by shipping coins or bars at their fair market value on the distribution date.

Can I delay my first RMD past December 31 of my age-73 year?

Yes, to April 1 of the following year. The IRS calls that the "required beginning date." If you delay, you owe two RMDs in the same calendar year: the deferred first RMD by April 1, and the second RMD by December 31. Stacking two RMDs raises federal AGI and shows up two years later in Medicare IRMAA, so the delay is not automatically the better choice. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.

Can I skip the RMD by moving the metal in-kind to a taxable brokerage?

No. An in-kind distribution is still a distribution. The fair market value on the distribution date is reported on Form 1099-R and is ordinary income at federal and California brackets that year. The RMD requirement is satisfied only by pulling the RMD dollar amount out of the wrapper, in cash or in-kind. What in-kind buys you is keeping the physical metal instead of converting it to cash.

Does California charge any extra tax on an RMD from a gold IRA?

Only the ordinary income tax at your California bracket. Rates run up to 12.3%, with the 1% Mental Health Services Tax on taxable income above $1,000,000, for a top combined 13.3%. There is no California collectibles rate that applies inside the retirement wrapper. The federal 10% and California 2.5% additional early-distribution taxes are already off the table at 73, because those apply only before age 59.5.

What is a Qualified Charitable Distribution and how much can I do at 74?

A QCD is a direct transfer from your IRA custodian to a qualifying 501(c)(3) charity. The 2025 annual cap is $108,000 per person. Each spouse in a joint return can do a QCD from their own IRA up to the cap.

QCDs count toward your RMD for the year and are excluded from federal AGI, so California AGI does not include the charitable slice either. A QCD must go from the custodian to the charity; a personal check written from your bank is not a QCD.

If I miss an RMD, what is the penalty and how do I fix it?

The excise tax is 25% of the missed amount under IRC Section 4974, reduced to 10% if you correct the shortfall within two years. Take the missed RMD as soon as you realize it, file Form 5329 with the current year's return, and attach a letter of explanation asking the IRS to waive the penalty for reasonable error. Retain documentation of what caused the miss. Get a licensed tax professional to draft the letter and file the form.

What happens to my gold IRA if I die at 77 with a California spouse and adult children as beneficiaries?

The IRA passes by beneficiary designation and bypasses California probate under Probate Code 5000. A surviving spouse can treat the IRA as their own, roll it, or remain the beneficiary. Each option carries a different RMD path.

Adult children as non-spouse designated beneficiaries must generally empty the inherited IRA by December 31 of the tenth year after your death. Annual distributions during years 1 through 9 are required because you died after your required beginning date. Distributions to beneficiaries are federal ordinary income but do not owe the federal 10% or California 2.5% additional early-distribution tax; death is an exception.