My spouse as beneficiary of my Roth IRA- will she have RMDs?
If my wife is the beneficiary of my Roth IRA, and she elects to treat my Roth as her own, will she have any Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)? Or can she leave some or all of the funds in the Roth for the rest of her life?
Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Thu, 2025-05-29 17:17
She will have no RMDs once electing to assume ownership of the inherited Roth IRA including the year in which she elects to be treated as the owner. If she then leaves her Roth to a non spouse beneficiary, they will be subject to the 10 year rule but will have no annual RMDs in years 1-9.
Note that if she elects to assume ownership and is under 59,5 and you already held the Roth for 5 years, any distributions she takes will not be qualified until she reaches 59.5. She gets credit for your holding period, but her own age applies in determining when the Roth is fully qualified.
Permalink Submitted by William Brigham on Thu, 2025-05-29 17:47
Thanks so much. You answered another question for me back in December. You are the man!