Can You Reinvest Your Required Minimum Distribution?

Once you take your RMD, the money belongs to you, and what you do with it is entirely up to you. You can spend it, save it in a regular savings account, or invest it in a taxable brokerage account if you do not need it right away. What you cannot do is put the RMD back into a traditional IRA or roll it over into another tax-deferred retirement account, since that would defeat the purpose of the required distribution. You can, however, put the money into a Roth IRA if you have earned income that year and meet the income requirements for Roth contributions. For people who do not need the income, investing the RMD in a taxable account allows the money to keep working even after it has left the tax-sheltered environment.