Beneficiary IRA

Retirement

A Beneficiary IRA (Inherited IRA) is a retirement account inherited from a deceased owner. Post-SECURE Act 2019, most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty the account within 10 years of the owner's death. Spouse beneficiaries can roll inherited IRAs into their own IRAs. Required Minimum Distributions: surviving spouse follows their own age-based RMD schedule; non-spouse must completely distribute within 10 years (with annual RMDs if the original owner had begun RMDs). Roth IRA inheritances also subject to 10-year rule but distributions remain tax-free. Strategic planning: stretch distributions across the 10-year window in lower-income years to manage tax brackets.