Changing RMD for an inherited/inherited IRA

Submitted by Jim Tonchick on Wed, 2014-11-12 17:18

When my sister-in-law passed away several years ago, she had her mother as the IRA beneficiary. Since her mother was over 70, she started taking her annual RMD the next year. Now my mother-in-law has passed away and listed my wife and brother-in-law as beneficiaries. The inherited IRA was split between them and the 2014 RMD distribution is being taken split between the two new inherited IRAs.

The question is for next year, 2015. Since this is a “second generation” inherited IRA, is the RMD still calculated using my mother-in-law’s life expectency, or using the life expectancy of the new IRA owners?



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Wed, 2014-11-12 18:08

  • The divisor schedule used by your mother in law will continue to apply as successor beneficiaries are not allowed to use their own life expectancies. That would make the 2015 RMD divisor 1.0 less than the 2014 divisor, if that divisor was correct.
  • It is worthwhile to verify that your mother in law was using the correct divisors. It sounds like your sister in law passed PRIOR to her required beginning date, but if she passed after that date, please advise.

Submitted by Jim Tonchick on Thu, 2014-11-13 22:07

When my sister-in-law passed away she was only 56.  At that time, my mother-in-law was well over 70, so she was the first and only individual to take a RMD.  She has been taking RMD’s since the year after she inherited the IRA.

Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2014-11-13 23:39

Ok, previous reply still applies. If you want to verify the 2015 divisor in the event your mother in law was using the wrong divisor, determine your mother in laws age as of year end of the year following the year of your sister in laws death. Check Table I in Pub 590 to get the initial divisor for that age. For each year thereafter reduce that divisor by 1.0 and continue that for your wife starting in 2015.

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