IRA RMD’s from deceased spouse
Husband owns a Simple IRA with Spouse as beneficiary. Husband will take RMD this year. His spouse is 10 years younger. He is dying of cancer and possibly die next year. What are is wifes choices? Will she be required to continue taking the same RMD as husband? Can she transfer to a IRA of her own even if the husband began taking RMD’s?
Thanks for your response
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Tue, 2010-07-13 23:53
A surviving spouse can always roll over the account into her own IRA account OR maintain the IRA as a beneficiary. The decision rests largely on her age when she inherits the IRA.
Sounds like she has reached 59.5 in this case, so it would be to her advantage to assume ownership or roll over the IRA to her own IRA. She can then take RMDs based on her longer life expectancy.
In the year of his death, the RMD will be his own calculation as if he lived all year. The reduction to her RMD would apply in the year following his death.