Beneficiary IRA Distribution
My spouse died in 2014 and would have turned 70 1/2 in 2017. I changed her IRA to “my name Beneficiary IRA of my spouse’s name”. I was told to take a first RMD this year 2017 using my age on the Single Life Expectancy Table. Is there any way to use the Uniform Lifetime Table which is more advantageous and should I have started the first RMD within a year of her death? Thanks for your help.
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2017-06-15 19:06
Yes, if you are the sole beneficiary, your beneficiary RMDs do not begin until the year your spouse would have reached 70.5. However, before you take a distribution you should assume ownership of the inherited IRA and have it re titled with you as owner. Then your RMD table changes to the Uniform Table which produces a lower RMD starting this year.