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• Your age at retirement combined with where your retirement money is invested (i.e., IRA or company retirement plan) will determine how distributions from your various retirement accounts will be taxed and possibly penalized. 
  
  
• You must determine how you intend to take those distributions at retirement to minimize your income tax burden.
  
  
• Any money transferred to a traditional IRA from company plans will fall under IRA rules. That means the money cannot be taken without penalty until age 59½ unless SEPP rules are used.
  
  
• Money left in a 401(k) plan of your employer may be taken from that plan free of penalty (but not income taxes), provided you retire in the year you will reach age 55 and the plan itself allows such withdrawals.
  
  
• Those participating in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan may often take those shares directly, paying income tax on the cost basis only, and long-term capital gains rates when the shares are sold in retirement.
  
  
• Once you begin taking a SEPP from your IRA, you have to take at least an annual distribution for the later of five years or until you reach the age 59½.
  
  
• Between ages 59½ and 70½ there are virtually no restrictions imposed on you regarding distributions from your IRA account.
  
  
• Once you turn age 70½, you must begin making minimum required distributions each calendar year.