Taking money out at retirement, what order?

[lynnerself]

Now that I am within 6 to 9 years of retirement (age 62 to 65) I am wondering about advice on what order to take money out of accounts.
We will have a set amount each month from SS, pension and small annuities.
Then we have Roth IRA, 401K, Roth 401K, 457b and some taxable accounts.
Are there general rules or plans on what to start taking and when?

[cronewitch]

My plan is to take enough from 401K to get my taxable income and SS total to less than is taxable for SS. I will use a bit from taxable accounts too for dividends and gains and use what I need from ROTH.

After 70 I will take my RMD from 401K and a bit from taxable accounts and may not need to touch ROTH.

I will watch tax law changes and as long as heirs get a stepped up basis on taxable investments I will try to leave them and use up ROTH since they wouldn't be better off getting it. 401K I hope is gone before I die so they don't get it at fully taxable rates so I will make extra effort to deplete it before the others. I do want to have enough taxable income to get to the 15% bracket every year but not pay taxes on SS income.

[qofcc]

A lot depends on how much you have in each type of account and how much you need to live on, but it all boils down to tax planning. You can use a current year tax booklet to estimate it or ask your tax preparer for help. Let's say you're married filing jointly and your standard deduction + exemptions (for a couple 65 or older) is $28,200. Social Security benefits become taxable when half your SS income + any other income exceeds $32K. If you're planning to live on less than $50K/yr, then you might want to take enough from your taxable accounts so that your taxable income is $17K, then take any balance from your Roth or after-tax accounts. The next threshold for taxable income for married couples is at $69K, you cross from 15% into the 25% bracket. Again, if you're going to cross over by just a little, take that little out of the after-tax accounts. I would think that the average retired couple who has SS and investments, probably is solidly in the 15% bracket, but not in the 25%, so you need to figure out how long your after-tax money will last and spread it out for the best advantage. You don't want to use pre-tax money while you're in the 15% bracket then save the after-tax money for when you're in the 10% bracket.

[lynnerself]

I had always thought to delay taking the Roth as long as possible to increase tax free growth.
However it looks like I should look more at my tax brackets each phase of retirement.
The pension is taxable. And once we are taking our RMD we may be pushing the 25% bracket.
We have a general idea of income and costs in retirement. We will start to refine these numbers in the next few years. For now we are just saving as much as possible.

[dancinmama]

DH is going to get a pension. We will withdraw from his 401k and supplement with cash depending on what tax bracket we want to be in.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Are there general rules or plans on what to start taking and when?

The IRS requires a holders of 401K/IRAs and similar tax deferred accounts to take an annual required minimum distribution, that is based on life expectancy tables that I believe are supplied by the IRS.
You must start taking distributions from these types of accounts the year you turn 70 1/2. You'd have to check the rules and what not for the exact timing.
You have no choice as to how much you can or want to take; and has nothing to do with what you need to live on. Note this is a required MINIMUM distribution, you can take more if you need to.
Roth type accounts have no such requirement.
You should check with a financial planner for advice.