Are TSA, IRA, and 403B the same?

[Guest jngehring]

I will figure my MRD before the end of this year. Over my years of employment I acquired IRA's, TSA's, and 403B's. Are these all treated the same when figuring the MRD?

[Michael Devault]

First of all, TSAs and 403(B)s are generally considered the same thing. TSA is an acronym for Tax Sheltered Annuity, which is one type of funding medium used in 403(B) plans.

The RMDs for each are calculated using the same process. However, once calculated, you must take distributions from each. In other words, distributions from IRAs cannot satisfy the distribution requirements of 403(B)/TSAs. Similarly, distributions from 403(B)/TSAs cannot be made to satisfy the distribuiton requirements of IRAs.

If you have multiple IRAs, you should determine the RMD for each individually. Then, the total may be taken from one or more of the IRA accounts to satisfy your IRA distribution.

The same process should be used for your TSAs/403(B) accounts. Calculated them individually and take the total from one or more TSA/403(B) account.

Hope this helps.