surviving spouse RMDs at 70 1/2 or 72?
An IRA owner passed away at age 66 back in 2018. Because his wife was older, she elected to transfer the funds to a beneficiary IRA so that she could delay taking RMDs until her husband, the original owner, would have attained age 70 1/2.
Now that the RMD age has been increased to 72, can she delay until her husband would have been 72? Or do the rules in place at the time of death (2018) prevail?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2021-04-20 19:10
Since the IRA owner was born after 6/30/1949, his wife does not have to start RMDs until the year he would have reached 72. Anytime in that year she should elect ownership of the IRA and her RMD for that year will be lower since the Uniform Table will apply. The rules in 2018 are therefore subject to change based on the Secure Act.
Permalink Submitted by Jason Frank on Wed, 2021-04-21 14:09
Thank you very much for your advice!