Spouse Beneficiary IRA
Client’s spouse passed away in 2006. She was the sole beneficiary of the IRA. She was told to make the IRA a Beneficiary IRA by her prior IRA custodian which she did. She is 7 years younger than her spouse who passed away. She does not need any income from the IRA and wants to prolong taking RMD’s as long as possible. Client will be 59 1/2 years old next month. Her husband would have been 70 1/2 in 2012. Can she still elect to rollover the Beneficiary IRA into an IRA in her name. Thanks!
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Fri, 2008-03-07 04:19
Yes, initially electing beneficiary status does not limit the ability to make the IRA her own anytime she wishes, or from rolling it over to her own IRA. Once she is 59.5, she can take distributions without penalty if needed, and her own RMDs would be deferred much longer than 2012.