Unless you choose not to have income tax withheld, the periodic retirement payments you receive will be treated like wages for withholding tax purposes. You should complete Form W-4P, indicating your filing status and exemptions in order to have the proper amount withheld.
If you do not file a Form W-4P, tax will be withheld as if you were married claiming three allowances. (This may not be the right amount of withholding for you). And, if you do not provide your taxpayer identification number (social security number), or the number you provide is incorrect, tax will be withheld as if you were single with no allowances (withholding at a higher rate). If you have filed a Form W-4P, and later there are changes in your tax situation (change in filing status or number of allowances, for instance), you will need to file a new Form W-4P.
Non-periodic Distributions
Tax will be withheld from periodic payments (regular installments) at the rates determined by the information you provide on Form W-4P. But withholding on non-periodic payments, that are not eligible rollover distributions, will be at 10%. You can ask the payer to withhold more that 10%, if you choose, by indicating the additional amount you want withheld on line 3 of the second part of Form W-4P.
Eligible Rollover Distributions
Generally, the withholding tax on eligible rollover distributions is 20%, and you cannot choose not to have tax withheld. But if you ask the administrator of the plan to make a direct rollover into another qualified retirement plan or IRA, you can avoid the withholding tax. If you receive a rollover distribution and you want to roll this distribution over into another retirement account, you will need to remember to contribute the 20% that was withheld in order to complete the amount of the rollover, and avoid the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals.