Combining RMD withdrawals (spousal)

Submitted by Mark Bunker on Tue, 2019-11-26 23:04

I was wondering if you could help me clarify a tax question on combining RMD withdrawals.

Example: Mary (age 75) has a total of 6 IRA’s. 5 are her own and 1 was inherited from her uncle. I am aware that Mary cannot combine all 6 RMD’s. She can only combine her own 5 but must take a separate RMD withdrawal from the single inherited IRA.

Then, if I understand this correctly, spouses are exempt from this rule! So if Mary’s IRA’s consisted of 5 of her own and 1 from her deceased husband, they could be combined and only one RMD withdrawal could be made.

Do I have this right?

Thank you for your response.



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2019-11-26 23:13

  • You are correct on the basic example.
  • However, if the inherited IRA came from her spouse, then she must elect to assume ownership before she can aggregate the RMD with the other 5. If she continues as the beneficiary (not as owner), then the inherited IRA is separate for RMD purposes. Unless her spouse was much younger, she should elect to assume ownership given her age. It would reduce her RMD and also protect the stretch benefit for her own beneficiaries.

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