Successor Bene pre & post SECURE Act involving ex-spouse

Submitted by David Briegs on Tue, 2022-11-22 23:15

With regards to successor bene IRAs (inherited inherited IRAs):

Sally Smith inherited an IRA from a non-spouse decedent (Jane Doe) pre-SECURE Act and was taking lifetime bene RMD distributions. Sally then died last year post-SECURE Act and the IRA passed to Ken Smith. Ken Smith was Sally’s ex-spouse. Here are the questions:

1. Can an ex-spouse (Ken) still be considered an Eligible Designated Beneficiary under the “spouse” exception to the 10-year rule?

2. If he can be, would the distributions be based off of:
a) Ken’s age at the year Sally (the first beneficiary) died, not adjusting annually since first bene was not spouse of original account owner Jane
b) Ken’s age at the year Sally (the first beneficiary) died, adjusting annually since second bene is spouse (or ex-spouse in this case) of the first bene
c) Ken’s age the year Jane (the original IRA account owner) died, not adjusting annually
d) Ken’s age the year Jane (the original IRA account owner) died, adjusting annually
e) Still Sally’s age the year Jane died, not adjusting annually

3. If he is not eligible for the “spouse” exception, would he be able to still take advantage of the stretch provision since he is not more than 10 years younger than Sally (he’s actually 4 years older)?

This successor bene IRA is 260k so the stretch provision would be very beneficial to Ken if it is available to him.



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2022-11-23 01:19

  1. No, Ken is a successor beneficiary, and a successor beneficiary is not eligible to be an EDB. The “D” in EDB denotes a designated beneficiary. 
  2. Ken now has to determine if Jane Doe (who he may never have known) passed prior to RBD or after. If after her RBD, Ken will now have to take annual RMDs in years 1-9 of his 10 year rule. Those annual RMD must continue Sally’s RMD schedule, but reset for the new 2022 tables. If Jane passed prior to her RBD, Ken will not have to continue annual RMDs, just drain the account in year 10.
  3. No, just what the 10 years provides him. His own age is immaterial. Even if he is not subject to annual beneficiary RMDs, he would probably benefit from taking a ratable distribution every year over the 10 years, even 11 years counting the year of death. He also must complete Sally’s year of death RMD if she did not do so.


Submitted by David Briegs on Wed, 2022-11-23 18:16

Thank you!



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