Here is a sentence that has cost people real money.
"I'm over 59½, so my Roth withdrawals are tax-free."
Usually true. Not always. And the exception catches exactly the people who were being responsible.
Because there is a second condition sitting quietly next to the age test, and it has nothing to do with how old you are. It has to do with how long ago you started.
Worse, there is not one five-year rule.
There are three. They measure different things, start on different dates, and apply to different pots of money inside the same account.
Most articles mention one of them and move on. Which is why people confidently withdraw at 64 and then find part of it was taxable.
The good news is that once you see the three clocks separately, the whole thing becomes obvious, and the fix for most people takes about four minutes and ten dollars.
Let's separate them.