A non-owner plan participant terminates employment past age 70-1/2 and is now required to take the minimum required distribution from the Plan. This person also has money in a traditional IRA. Does the MRD have to be calculated and taken separately from both the Plan and the IRA, or can they be taken entirely from either the Plan or the IRA? Does it matter if the IRA is a Roth IRA?

Each plan must satisfy the minimum distribution requirements separately. A distribution from one IRA may be made to satisfy the requirements of all IRAs. A Roth IRA does not require minimum distributions, and the fact that is post-tax dollars would defeat the purpose of the requirements for minimum distributions in the first place.

If the customer has more than one IRA they can aggregate the amounts and take them all from one account. (Pub. 590) You cannot do that with employer sponsored plans.