Deceased spouse’s IRA and surviving spouse is primary beneficiary
Good morning. Hey, I have a situation where husband had an IRA account and passed. His wife is the beneficiary. She currently has a SEP IRA. She is looking at doing some consolidation and getting these deferred retirement accounts into 1 IRA.
Can she move her husband’s IRA into her SEP IRA. Then take her SEP IRA and move into an IRA? She is no longer contributing to the SEP and is retiring.
Looking for the best way to handle. Thank you for your help in advance.
Regards,
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2024-05-31 15:25
Assuming that she should elect to be treated as the owner at this time (ages were not stated), she could either make the election for the inherited IRA and then transfer the SEP into that IRA, or first transfer the SEP into a new traditional IRA and then transfer the IRA for which she assumed ownership into that same IRA. These transactions should be done by direct transfer as only one 60 day rollover is permitted for a 12 month period.
Since this is the last year she can file jointly at the lower rates, she might also consider a measured Roth conversion as her tax rates will be higher when filing single.