Many people work really hard to amass savings for retirement. So if you have a nice pile of cash in your IRA or 401(k), you may be hesitant to start tapping it right away. After all, you want that money to last.

Still, the whole purpose of saving in an IRA or 401(k) is to be able to cover your living expenses in retirement without worry -- and perhaps, ideally, have money left over to pay for leisure, travel, and other fun things. So at some point, you're apt to want to start taking withdrawals from your retirement account.

In fact, if you have your money in a traditional IRA or 401(k), as opposed to a Roth savings plan, you'll actually have to start tapping your account once required minimum distributions begin to apply.

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Source Fool.com