The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
Things become complicated upon an IRA owner’s death. If the account holder dies before his required beginning date, or RBD, there is no required minimum due for that year. If, however, the participant dies after his RBD, the beneficiaries must take his final required minimum distribution (RMD) before December 31 of the year of death. If it is not taken, the 50% penalty applies.
After the year of death, the beneficiaries now are obligated to take their own RMDs annually. While the requirement for lifetime minimum distributions is commonly recognized, many people are unaware that RMDs continue after death. If the correct RMD is not taken, the same 50% penalty is assessed on the beneficiaries.
The rules for these required distributions are determined by two broad factors:
Roth IRAs do not require lifetime RMDs. However, upon the death of a Roth IRA owner, the beneficiaries are required to take RMDs or face the same stiff 50% penalty.
First, we will assume that RMDs have not yet started prior to the participant’s death (he died before reaching age 70½, leaving his wife as the beneficiary). In this scenario, the spouse would have three options:
If the goal is to defer taxes as long as possible, the five-year rule is probably not ideal since the entire account will be liquidated and all taxes paid within five years, which may be significantly shorter than the life expectancy of the beneficiary. However, if no distributions are made in the year after death, this option becomes the default.
It is important to remember that RMDs are just that: required minimum distributions. Any of the affected parties can always take out more than the minimum required. So electing an option that provides for the lowest minimum distribution offers the best planning opportunities. It provides the absolute least that must be taken without penalty, without compromising the option to take more at any time.
A non-spouse has two options if RMDs have not yet started prior to the IRA owner’s death:
The only option available to trust or estate beneficiaries when RMDs have not yet commenced is the five-year rule. The estate is automatically the presumed beneficiary if there is no beneficiary listed. So, it is critical that the participant names both a beneficiary and a contingent beneficiary in order to preserve the tax deferral available using the life expectancy option above.
If, however, the participant had already started RMDs prior to death, a separate set of rules apply. Again, the spouse enjoys the most flexibility. Her options include:
While a spouse has several options to continue pre-death RMDs, a non-spouse is left with only one option. They must use the younger of:
To calculate the RMD, divide the account balance by the life expectancy factor that corresponds to that age in Table I. Each subsequent year, reduce the previous life expectancy factor by one (as opposed to looking up the new current age each year).
If multiple beneficiaries are named, it is best to establish separate accounts for each beneficiary at death so that each can utilize their own life expectancy factor. A single beneficiary account will force all of the beneficiaries to use the oldest beneficiary’s age to determine RMDs for all of them. This will force higher RMDs than necessary for the younger beneficiaries, which will accelerate taxation.
A trust or estate beneficiary has the same single option as a non-spouse, with one modification. Since a trust is not a natural person with a life expectancy, it cannot use the beneficiary’s age but is forced to use the participant’s age as of his birthday in the year of death to find the corresponding Table 1 life expectancy factor. Some Trusts can be drafted to include a “look-through provision” that names a qualified individual beneficiary or beneficiaries that qualify as individuals. However, if the estate is named, or no beneficiary is named at all, this rule applies.
In my many years as a Certified Financial Planner practitioner, I have come across situations where individuals were provided inaccurate advice from bankers, stockbrokers and even financial planners. IRA distribution planning is very complex. It requires a high level of expertise in order to make the best decisions that minimize taxes and penalties and provide the most flexibility for the individuals affected. Since the general information provided in this article is not intended to be nor should it be treated as tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice, I highly recommend that you consult with a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner professional before making any of these critical financial decisions.
Image: Martinan
April 11, 2023
Uncategorized
September 13, 2021
Uncategorized
August 4, 2021
Uncategorized