By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®
IRA Analyst
QUESTION:
My client is age 71 and divorced. He is the primary beneficiary of his ex-wife’s IRA. She just recently passed away this year at the age of 67. I believe my client is an Eligible Designated Beneficiary (“EDB”) because he is not more than 10 years younger than his ex-spouse. As such, I believe my client can choose to take RMDs (required minimum distributions) over his own single life expectancy, which would begin in 2026, but no later than April 1, 2027. Am I correct?
Regards,
Brendan
ANSWER:
Brendan,
You are correct that your client qualifies as an EDB under the “not more than 10 years younger” EDB category. Since the ex-wife died in 2025, your client can begin annual stretch RMDs in 2026. (Incidentally, since the ex-wife had not yet reached her required beginning date, your client could choose the 10-year rule with no RMDs in years 1 – 9.) Regardless, assuming he elects the full stretch, he will use the Single Life Expectancy Table to determine his original RMD factor in 2026. Identify his age (at his birthday) in 2026, and use the corresponding factor. If he turns age 72 in 2026, that factor is 17.2. For each year thereafter, he will subtract 1 from the preceding year’s factor. Note that he cannot delay his first RMD until April 1, 2027. That option is not available on inherited IRAs. He must take the first RMD by December 31, 2026.
QUESTION:
My wife inherited an IRA from her uncle in 2019. She was taking RMDs from it each year. She died last year. I am age 53. Can I roll this IRA into an IRA in my name and stop the distributions?
ANSWER:
Condolences to you for the loss of your wife. Since this is an inherited IRA and not your wife’s own original IRA, that makes you a successor beneficiary. Successor beneficiaries, no matter who they are (spouses included), are bound by the 10-year rule. Since she passed in 2024, your 10-year drawdown period starts this year – 2025. Additionally, you must continue taking annual RMDs based on the same single life expectancy factor that your wife was using. Essentially, you step into her shoes and follow her same factor, subtracting 1 each year. Had this been your wife’s own IRA, you could do a spousal rollover into your own IRA. But since it is an inherited IRA and you are a successor, a spousal rollover is not an option.
If you have technical questions you would like to have answered, be sure to submit them to mailbag@irahelp.com, to be answered on an upcoming Slott Report Mailbag, published every Thursday.
https://irahelp.com/eligible-designated-beneficiaries-and-successor-beneficiaries-todays-slott-report-mailbag/