spouse died/401k question
I was hoping that someone could help me out with the rules pertaining to a spouse who is the beneficiary of a 401k plan.
I know that in the case of an IRA, they can roll to a beneficiary IRA and then take distributions without penalty even if they are under 59 1/2. Can a 401k plan also be moved to a beneficiary IRA? If so, does this have to be done through the current 401k company, or can it be moved from the spouse’s 401k to a beneficiary IRA elsewhere? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Fri, 2011-02-18 23:14
Yes, the spouse can roll the funds to a beneficiary IRA if they choose that vrs direct distributions from the plan.
The following is copied from the current 402f Notice, which plans are required to provide to owners and beneficiaries:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
If you are a surviving spouse. If you receive a payment from the Plan as the surviving spouse
of a deceased member, you have the same rollover options that the member would have had,
as described elsewhere in this notice. In addition, if you choose to do a rollover to an IRA, you
may treat the IRA as your own or as an inherited IRA.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>