Ask the Expert: IRA contribution rules

I'll turn 70 next February, and will have to start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts. I'll continue working part time. Will I still be able to contribute to an IRA?

Your contributions to traditional IRAs must stop on Jan. 1 of the year you turn 701/2. But you can still contribute to your current employer's 401(k) plan. If you have any self-employed income, you can still contribute to a SEP-IRA. And if you file a joint return with a spouse who's younger than 701/2 on Dec. 31, he or she can contribute to a spousal IRA.

Even if you're still working, you must take yearly RMDs after 701/2 -- with one exception: You don't have to take a distribution from your current employer's 401(k) plan unless you own 5 percent or more of the company. (You must take RMDs from a SEP-IRA after age 701/2 even if you still contribute to it.) The deadline for your first RMD is April 1 of the year after you turn 701/2 -- in your case, April 1, 2014. Thereafter, the deadline is always Dec. 31. To avoid taking two distributions in 2014, it's sensible to take the first one in 2013.

To calculate the minimum required withdrawal from your IRAs, divide the total balance of all your IRAs by your life expectancy, which you'll find in the actuarial tables of IRS Publication 590. You can take the distribution from any one of them. But you can't tap IRAs for the RMD that must come from a 401(k) account. You must do a separate calculation to determine the RMD from each 401(k) plan you own, and take the correct amount from each 401(k).

The bottom line You can't contribute to an IRA after age 701/2.

Two websites with more information 1.usa.gov/K2ekjw and bit.ly/yKGCLK