Amongst all of the various kinds of retirement account beneficiaries, those that are the surviving partner of the unique account proprietor obtain probably the most preferential tax therapy on the subject of distributing the account’s belongings after the proprietor’s demise. Whereas non-spouse beneficiaries face strict timelines – both beginning Required Minimal Distributions (RMDs) the yr after the unique proprietor’s demise and stretching them over their remaining life expectancy (in the event that they had been thought of Eligible Designated Beneficiaries), or absolutely distributing the account inside 10 years (in the event that they had been Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiaries) or 5 years (in the event that they had been Non-Designated Beneficiaries) – surviving spouses have extra flexibility. They’ll delay their RMDs till the unique account proprietor would have reached the required age for beginning RMDs in the event that they had been nonetheless alive.
Moreover, surviving spouses even have the choice to roll over the inherited account into an account in their very own title, permitting the account to be handled as if it had at all times been theirs. Which means that the surviving partner can wait till their very own RMD age to start out distributing from the account; and when RMDs do start, they’re ready to make use of the extra favorable Uniform Lifetime Desk to calculate the RMD quantities (reasonably than the Single Life Desk that is typically used to calculate the RMDs of account beneficiaries).
Previous to 2024, nevertheless, spousal beneficiaries confronted complicated tradeoffs when deciding whether or not to go away the account as an inherited account or to roll it over into their very own title. For instance, a surviving partner underneath age 59 1/2 might need to do a spousal rollover to reap the benefits of the extra favorable distribution schedule; but when they should entry any of the funds within the account earlier than age 59 1/2, withdrawing them from the rollover account would incur a ten% early distribution penalty (which they would not have incurred if they’d left the account as inherited). And a surviving partner who’s older than the deceased partner might need to depart the account as inherited with a purpose to delay RMDs till the decedent’s RMD age, however then they’d be topic to the less-favorable distribution schedule utilizing the Single Life Desk.
However the SECURE 2.0 Act created a brand new possibility for surviving spouses (efficient beginning in 2024) that adjustments the calculus for deciding which possibility to select from. The brand new rule permits spousal beneficiaries who depart the account within the decedent’s title to elect to make use of the Uniform Lifetime Desk to calculate their RMDs reasonably than the Single Life Desk as was required underneath the present guidelines. Which implies that spouses who select to maintain the account within the decedent’s title for any motive will now not be pressured to take greater RMDs for doing so.
Notably, there should be causes to finish a spousal rollover regardless of the brand new Spousal Election rule. As an example, surviving spouses who’re youthful than the decedent can delay RMDs for longer after rolling the account over; moreover, rollover accounts typically have extra versatile and favorable choices for the surviving partner’s personal beneficiaries (particularly if the surviving partner later remarries). Which means that, in lots of instances, the most suitable choice could be to maintain the account underneath the decedent’s title till RMDs start after which roll it over into the partner’s title thereafter.
The important thing level is that although the brand new Spousal Election could appear to complicate the planning image for surviving spouses by including but an alternative choice, it really serves to learn surviving spouses by lowering the tradeoffs between inherited account and spousal rollover choices. And whereas totally different spousal beneficiaries might have a unique ‘optimum’ selection relying on their very own circumstances, the results of constructing the ‘mistaken’ selection at the moment are a lot lower than they had been underneath the previous guidelines!
