Spousal beneficiary options when spouse dies after RBD
This is a bit of a follow up to a previous question. If an IRA owner dies after their RBD, can the surviving spouse transfer the IRA into their own IRA after satisfying the year of death RMD for the deceased? Would then the surviving spouse take distributions based on Table III assuming the surviving spouse is younger?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Mon, 2022-09-05 22:42
The surviving spouse can assume ownership at any time, and the year of death RMD can be completed from the owned IRA after assuming ownership or from the inherited IRA before assuming ownership. Starting in the year after IRA owner’s death, the RMD for the newly owned RMD will be determined from the Uniform Table whether the surviving spouse is older or younger. The surviving spouse is treated as if they owned the IRA for the entire year.