Combining Inherited IRAs
Original IRA Owner (Louise) was also an original 403(b) Owner. She named both of her children Alfred and Christian as 50% beneficiaries of each. Louise died in 2025 and both Alfred and Christian received separate inherited IRAs from the IRA company and from the 403(b) company.
Since the IRA and 403(b) were owned by the same person and had the identical beneficiaries, can each child (Alfred and Christian, respectively) combing their own Inherited IRAs into a single Inherited IRA for each person?
Thank you.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2025-02-24 10:48
Yes, they can be combined because they were inherited from the same original owner and the RMD treatment is the same. If the inherited IRA separate accounts were established first, the direct rollover from the inherited 403b could have been sent to the already existing inherited IRA.
Since the owner’s 2025 RMD (if applicable) might not have been completed before passing, the 403b should have distributed the 2025 RMD before rolling over the balance to an inherited IRA. The inherited IRA 2025 RMD (if any) for the year of death should also be completed by the beneficiaries in any combination between the two.