Diana Theis, Sr. Specialized Consultant at Wolters Kluwer has published her insight, IRA Beneficiary Options: What You Need to Know (Aug. 13, 2019) (Wolters Kluwer). Her article begins as follows:
The required minimum distribution (RMD) rules applicable to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are written in two parts, including distributions before an IRA owner’s death (i.e., RMDs for owners of traditional IRAs), and distributions after an IRA owner’s death [i.e., RMDs for beneficiaries of traditional, simplified employee pension (SEP), Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE), and Roth IRAs]. The distribution options available to a beneficiary after an IRA owner dies depend on several variables including the type of IRA that is inherited, whether a beneficiary is an individual (i.e., a living person) or a nonindividual, the language in the decedent’s IRA plan agreement, and potentially state law.After an IRA custodian/trustee has been notified of an IRA owner’s death and has obtained acceptable certification of death, it is the custodian/trustee’s responsibility to ensure that all aspects of properly administering an inherited IRA are followed. Additionally, an IRA custodian/trustee may assist a beneficiary in determining the available distribution options which potentially include taking a lump sum death distribution; the five-year rule; distributing one’s share using single life expectancy; or the unique option for a spouse to treat the decedent’s IRA as his/her own IRA.
Tosee full article, click: IRA Beneficiary Options: What You Need to Know | Wolters Kluwer
Posted by Lewis J. Saret, Co-General Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal..
