To take a required minimum distribution from a Nationwide IRA, you submit form NFW-5887AO, the Required Minimum Distribution Request Form. Download it from Nationwide’s participant portal at nrsforu.com, or call 1-877-677-3678 to have a paper copy mailed. Every RMD for a given year must leave the account by December 31, so send the completed form early enough for Nationwide to process it before that date.1Nationwide. Investment/Mutual Fund Forms
Pick the Right Form for Your Account
Nationwide uses different distribution forms depending on the account. Using the wrong one typically results in a rejected request and, worse, incorrect tax coding on your Form 1099-R.
- Traditional, rollover, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs held at Nationwide use the standard Required Minimum Distribution Request Form (NFW-5887AO).1Nationwide. Investment/Mutual Fund Forms
- Inherited IRAs require the separate Inherited IRA Distribution Request Form. Beneficiaries follow different life expectancy tables and distribution timelines, and the standard owner form will not capture that status correctly.
- Annuity contracts may need a different version of the IRA Distribution Request Form to account for contract riders or guarantees. Nationwide’s annuity forms page lets you complete and submit these online or download them to fax or email.
Signing in at nrsforu.com filters the available forms to those tied to your account, which helps confirm you have the right one. Customer service on 1-877-677-3678 is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.2Nationwide Retirement Solutions. Contact Us
What to Gather Before You Start
Have these on hand:
- Your Nationwide account number, exactly as it appears on your statements
- Your Social Security number
- A voided check or your bank’s routing and account numbers, if you want funds sent electronically
- Your spouse’s date of birth, only if your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than ten years younger
- Your prior year-end account balance, if you plan to calculate the RMD yourself rather than have Nationwide do it
The standard calculation divides your account balance as of December 31 of the prior year by the life expectancy factor for your age in the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. If your sole beneficiary is a spouse more than ten years younger, you use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table instead, which produces a smaller RMD.3Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) You do not have to run the numbers yourself. The form offers an option to have Nationwide calculate the amount, which most people choose to avoid arithmetic errors that could trigger the missed-RMD penalty.
Filling Out the Nationwide RMD Form
Account Identification
Enter your full Nationwide account number and your Social Security number. These fields tie the distribution to the correct tax record, and mistakes here are the most common cause of processing delays.
How the Amount Is Determined
You typically choose between having Nationwide calculate the RMD or specifying a dollar amount yourself, either gross or net of withholding. If you enter your own figure, make sure it equals or exceeds the required minimum. Withdrawing less than the full RMD exposes the shortfall to the IRS excise tax.
If your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than ten years younger, mark that in the section provided so Nationwide applies the Joint Life table. Leaving it blank when it applies results in a larger withdrawal than you need to take.
Payment Frequency
You can request a one-time lump sum or set up recurring monthly, quarterly, or annual distributions. Automatic recurring payments are the most reliable way to avoid missing the December 31 deadline in future years.
Delivery Method
Provide your bank’s routing number and account number for an ACH transfer. If you skip this section, Nationwide mails a paper check to the address on file, which is slower and less secure.
Signing
Sign and date the form. Every field should be legible. Pay particular attention to the account number and Social Security number, since errors in those fields are the leading reason forms come back unprocessed.
Tax Withholding on the Form
Federal law defaults to 10 percent income tax withholding on nonperiodic IRA distributions, which covers most one-time RMD payments.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3405 – Special Rules for Pensions, Annuities, and Certain Other Deferred Income The form’s withholding section lets you waive federal withholding entirely or elect a higher percentage. If you set up recurring periodic payments, withholding is calculated as if the payment were wages unless you elect otherwise.
State income tax withholding is a separate election. Some states require mandatory withholding at a set rate, some allow you to opt out of a default rate, and states without income tax withhold nothing. The state section of the form will show the options available where you live. If you are unsure, Nationwide’s customer service can walk you through your state’s rules.
Withholding is not the same as your tax liability. The 10 percent default may not cover what you actually owe, particularly if the distribution pushes you into a higher bracket. Increasing withholding on the form or making estimated tax payments avoids a surprise at filing time.
How and Where to Submit the Form
Nationwide accepts the completed form several ways. The fastest is the online portal at nrsforu.com, where you can upload documents through the secure message center or, for some account types, submit the request entirely online.
For paper submission:
- Fax: 1-877-677-4329
- Standard mail: Nationwide Retirement Solutions, P.O. Box 182797, Columbus, OH 43218-2797
- Overnight mail: Nationwide Financial, 1-LC-F2, 1 Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215-22392Nationwide Retirement Solutions. Contact Us
Processing generally runs three to five business days after Nationwide receives and verifies the form. Submit by mid-December at the latest to leave a cushion. If you are filing in November or December, use the overnight address or the online portal rather than standard mail. Watch for a confirmation through email or your online dashboard that the distribution has been approved and the funds are moving.
When Your RMD Is Due
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, RMDs start at age 73 for people born from 1951 through 1959, and at age 75 for those born in 1960 or later. IRS final regulations confirm that people born in 1959 use the age-73 threshold.5Congress.gov. Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Rules for Original Owners
For the first year you owe an RMD, you may delay that first distribution until April 1 of the following year. Doing so means two RMDs in one tax year, since the second-year distribution is still due by December 31 of that same year, which can push you into a higher bracket. Most people are better off taking the first distribution by December 31 of the year they turn 73 or 75.3Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
A few situations delay or remove the requirement. If you are still working and participating in your current employer’s plan, and you do not own 5 percent or more of the business, RMDs from that specific plan can wait until the year you retire. This exception does not cover IRAs or plans left with prior employers.6Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs Roth IRAs are exempt during the original owner’s lifetime; inherited Roth IRAs are not.7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary
If you hold more than one IRA, calculate the RMD for each account separately, then withdraw the combined total from a single IRA or split it across your IRAs however you prefer. If you want to satisfy a combined RMD from one Nationwide account, specify the total dollar amount on the form rather than asking Nationwide to auto-calculate; otherwise Nationwide will only calculate the RMD for the account listed. Each 401(k) requires its own separate distribution from that plan, and you cannot pull a 401(k) RMD from an IRA.8Internal Revenue Service. RMD Comparison Chart (IRAs vs. Defined Contribution Plans)
If You Miss the Deadline
Withdrawing less than the full RMD by December 31 exposes the shortfall to a 25 percent IRS excise tax. That rate drops to 10 percent if you correct the shortfall within the correction window, which runs from the date the tax is imposed until the earliest of three events: the IRS mails a notice of deficiency, the IRS assesses the tax, or the last day of the second tax year after the year the penalty was triggered. In practice, that gives most people roughly two years to fix the mistake at the lower rate.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4974 – Excise Tax on Certain Accumulations in Qualified Retirement Plans
To report the penalty and request a waiver, file IRS Form 5329 with your federal return for the year the distribution was missed. If that return has already been filed, send Form 5329 on its own. Enter “RC” on the dotted line next to the penalty line along with the shortfall amount you want waived, and attach a written explanation of why the RMD was missed and what you did to correct it.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5329 The IRS grants waivers fairly liberally when the cause was something like a serious illness, a processing error, or a misunderstanding of the rules, and the missed amount was withdrawn as soon as the problem was discovered. Take the shortfall out of the Nationwide account before filing Form 5329 so the letter can point to a completed correction.