In July 2024, the IRS released its long-awaited final regulations clarifying the annual RMD (required minimum distribution) rules for non-spouse beneficiaries of retirement accounts that are subject to the new 10-year rule. But like most IRS regulations, it’s anything but simple and straightforward. The short answer is for non-spouse beneficiaries that are subject to the 10-year rule; some beneficiaries will be required to begin taking annual RMDs starting in 2025 while others will not. In this article, we will review:
The RMD requirement for non-spouse beneficiaries
RMD start date
IRS penalty relief for missed RMDs
Are one-time distributions required for missed RMDs 2020 - 2024?
Different RMD rules for Traditional IRAs versus Roth IRAs
Different RMD rules for Roth 401(k) versus Roth IRAs
Common RMD mistake for stretch rule beneficiaries
In addition to covering the topics above related to the new RMD rules, we want this article to be a “one-stop shop” for non-spouse beneficiaries to understand how these non-spouse inherited IRAs work from start to finish, so we will start this article by covering:
How Inherited IRA work for non-spouse beneficiaries
Rules for a decedent that pass either before or after 2019
The new 10-year Rule
Beneficiaries that are granted an exception to the new 10-year rule
Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
Taxation of distributions from inherited IRAs
Tax strategies and Pitfalls associated with Inherited IRA accounts
Special rules for minor children with Inherited IRAs
(If you are reading this just for the new RMD rules, you can skip to the second half of the article)
Non-spouse Beneficiaries of Retirement Accounts
When you inherit a retirement account, there are different options available to you depending on whether you are a “spouse beneficiary” or a “non-spouse beneficiary”. In this article, we are going to be focusing on the options available to a non-spouse beneficiary.
Non-spouse Beneficiary Rules Prior to 2020
In 2019, the SECURE Act 1.0 was passed, which greatly limited the inherited IRA options that were available to non-spouse beneficiaries of IRAs, 401(k)’s, and other types of employer-sponsored retirement plans. Under the old rules, if someone passed away prior to January 1, 2020, you as a non-spouse beneficiary, were allowed to move the balance of that IRA into an inherited IRA in your name, avoid any immediate tax implications, and you only had to take small distributions each year called RMDs (required minimum distributions) based on IRS life expectancy table. This was called the “stretch rule” which allowed a non-spouse beneficiary to stretch the distributions over their lifetime.
If you wanted to take more out of the account, you could, since it’s an inherited IRA, even if you were under the age of 59 ½, you avoided the 10% early withdrawal penalty and either had to pay income tax on a pre-tax retirement account or avoided tax altogether on Roth inherited IRA accounts. These beneficiaries had a lot of flexibility with this option with minimal emergency tax planning needed.
For individuals in this camp who inherited a retirement account from someone who passed away prior to January 1, 2020, the good news is you are grandfathered in under the old rules, and none of the changes that we are going to cover in this article apply to you. You still have access to the stretch provision.
Non-spouse Beneficiary of Decedent That Passed After December 31, 2019
SECURE Act 1.0, which passed in 2019, took away the “stretch option” for most non-spouse beneficiaries and replaced it with a much more restrictive “10-Year Rule,” which requires a non-spouse beneficiary to fully deplete the account balance of that inherited retirement account within 10 years start the year after the decedent passed away. If you inherited a retirement account from someone who passed away AFTER December 31, 2019, and you are non-spouse beneficiaries, you are subject to the new 10-Year Rule UNLESS you meet one of the exceptions. Non-spouse beneficiaries that qualify for an exception to the 10-year rule are referred to as “Eligible Designated Beneficiaries” in the new tax regulations if you choose to read the 260 pages that were just released by the IRS.
Here is the list of beneficiaries that are exempt from the new 10-year rule and still have the stretch option available to them:
Surviving spouse
Person less than 10 years younger than the decedent
Minor children
Disabled person
Chronically ill person
Some See-Through Trusts benefitting someone on this exception list
Non-Spouse Beneficiary Not More Than 10 Years Younger Than The Decedent
I wanted to highlight this exception because it’s the most common exception to the 10-rule for non-spouse beneficiaries that we see amongst our clients. If you are a non-spouse beneficiary of a retirement account from someone that was not more than 10 years younger than you like a sibling or a cousin, the new 10-year distribution rule does not apply to you. You are allowed to roll over the balance to your own inherited IRA and stretch annual RMDs over your lifetime.
Example: Tim passes away at the age of 55 and his sister Susan age 58 is the 100% primary beneficiary of his Traditional IRA account, since Susan is a non-spouse beneficiary, she normally would be subject to the 10-year rule requiring her to fully distribute and pay tax on Tim’s IRA balance within a 10 year period. However, since Tim was less than 10 years younger than Susan, she qualifies for the exception to the 10-year rule. She can rollover Tim’s IRA balance into an Inherited IRA in her name, and she would only be required to take small required minimum distributions each year starting the year after Tim passed away.
Minor Children As Beneficiary of Retirement Accounts
The minor child exception is a little tricker. If a minor child is the beneficiary of a retirement account, and they inherited the retirement account from their parents, they are only required to take those small annual RMDs until they reach age 21, but then as soon as they turn 21, they switch over to the 10-Year Rule. If they inherited the retirement account from someone other than their parent, then the 10-year period begins the year after the decedent passes away like the rest of the non-spouse beneficiaries.
Example: Josh is age 12 and his mother unexpectedly passes away and Josh is listed as the primary beneficiary on his mother’s 401(K) account at work. Josh, as a non-spouse beneficiary, would not immediately be subject to the 10-year rule, but instead, he would be temporarily allowed to use the stretch provision; he would be required to take annual RMDs each year from the retirement account until he reaches age 21. Once Josh reaches age 21, he will then be subject to the 10-year rule, and he will be required to fully distribute the retirement account 10 years following when he turns age 21.
Age of Majority: Normally the “age of majority” is defined by the state that the minor lives in. For some states, it’s age 18, and in other states, it’s age 21. The new IRS regulations addressed this issue and stated that regardless of the age of majority for the state that the minor lives in and regardless of whether or not the child is a student past the age of 18, the age of majority for purposes of triggering the 10-year rule for non-spouse beneficiaries will be age 21.
Non-Spouse Beneficiary Subject To The 10-Year Rule
If you are a non-spouse beneficiary who inherited a retirement account from someone who passed away AFTER December 31, 2019, and you DO NOT qualify for one of the exceptions previously listed, then you are subject to the new “10-Year Rule”. The 10-Year Rule requires a non-spouse beneficiary to fully deplete the inherited retirement account balance no later than 10 years following the year after the decedent passes away.
The 10-Year Rule Applies to Both Pre-Tax and Roth Retirement Accounts
Regardless of whether you inherited a pre-tax retirement account like a Traditional IRA, SEP IRA, or 401(k) account or a Roth retirement account like a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k), the 10-year rule applies.
Example: Sarah’s father just passed away in February 2024, and she was the 100% primary beneficiary of his Traditional IRA account with a balance of $300,000. Sarah is age 60. Sarah, as a non-spouse beneficiary, would be subject to the 10-year rule and would be required to fully distribute and pay tax on the full $300,000 before December 31, 2034, which is 10 years following the year after her father passed away.
The RMD Mystery
When the 10-Year Rule first came into being in 2020, it was assumed that this 10-year rule was an extension of the previous “5-year rule”, which only required the beneficiary to deplete the account balance within 5 years but there was no annual RMDs requirement during that 5-year period. The IRS just simply eliminated the “stretch option” and extended the 5-year rule to a 10-year rule.
But then, two after the IRS passed SECURE Act 1.0 with this new 10-year rule, the IRS came out with new proposed regulations that basically said, “Whoops, I know we wrote it that way, but that’s not what we meant.”
In the proposed regulations that the IRS released in February 2022, the IRS clarified that what they meant to say was that certain non-spouse beneficiaries that are subject to the new 10-year rule would ALSO be required to take annual RMDs during that 10-year period. This was not welcome news for many non-spouse beneficiaries, and it created a lot of confusion since a few years had already gone by since the new 10-year rule was signed into law.
The New RMD Rules for Inherited IRA for Non-spouse Beneficiaries
The finalized IRS regulations that were just released in July 2024 made their stance official. Whether or not a non-spouse beneficiary will be subject to BOTH the 10-Year Rule and annual RMDs will be dependent on two factors:
The age of the decedent when they passed away
The type of retirement account that the beneficiary inherited (Pre-tax or Roth)
RMD Requirement Based on Age of Decedent
If you are the original owner of a retirement account (Traditional IRA, 401(k), etc.), once you reach a specific age, the IRS requires you to start taking small distributions from that pre-tax account each year, which are called required minimum distributions (RMDs).
The age at which you are required to begin taking RMDs is called your Required Beginning Date (“RBD”), not to be confused with the “RMD”. There are too many acronyms in the finance world “The IRS wants you to take your RMD by your RBD ASAP so they can collect their TAX.”
The date at which RMDs are required to begin varies based on your date of birth:
Born 1950 or earlier: Age 72
Born 1951 – 1959: Age 73
Born 1960 or later: Age 75
Someone that is born in 1956 would be required to start taking RMDs from their pre-tax retirement accounts at age 73. Why is this relevant to non-spouse beneficiaries? Because whether or not the decedent died before or after their Required Beginning Date for RMDs will determine whether or not you, as the non-spouse beneficiary, are required to take annual RMDs during the 10-Year Rule period.
The Decedent Passes Away Prior to Their RMD Required Beginning Date
If the decedent passed away prior to their Required Beginning Date, then you, as the non-spouse beneficiary, are subject to the 10-Year Rule, but you ARE NOT REQUIRED to take annual RMDs during the 10-year period. You simply have to deplete the account balance prior to the end of the 10 years.
Example: Brad’s father passes away at age 68 and Brad is the 100% beneficiary of his Traditional IRA. Brad’s father was born in 1956, making his RMD start at age 73. Since Brad’s father passed away prior to reaching age 73 (RBD), Brad would be subject to the 10-year rule but would not be required to take annual RMDs during that 10-year period.
The Decedent Passes Away After Their RMD Required Beginning Date
If the decedent passes away AFTER their Required Beginning Date for RMDs, then the non-spouse beneficiary is subject to BOTH the 10-year rule AND is required to take annual RMDs during that 10-year period.
Example: Dave’s father passed away at age 80, and he had been taking RMDs for many years since he was beyond his Required Beginning Date. When Dave inherits his father’s Traditional IRA, he will not only be subject to the 10-year rule as a non-spouse beneficiary, but he will also be required to distribute annual RMDs every year from the Inherited IRA account since his father had already begun receiving RMDs for his account.
RMDs Not Required Until 2025
Since the IRS just released the final regulation in July 2024, for non-spouse beneficiaries that are subject to both the 10-Year Rule and annual RMDs, RMDs are not required to begin until 2025.
Good news: For non-spouse beneficiaries subject to the 10-year rule, the IRS has waived all penalties for the “missed RMDs” between 2020 and 2024, and they are not requiring these non-spouse beneficiaries to “make up” for missed RMDs for years leading up to 2025. The RMDs will be calculated in 2025 like everything has been working smoothly since Day 1.
No Reset of the 10-Year Depletion Timeline
It’s important to note that even though the IRS took 4 years to clarify the RMD rules associated with the new 10-year rule, it does not reset the 10-year clock for the depletion of the inherited retirement account.
Example: Jessica’s uncle passed away in 2020 at the age of 82. Jessica, as a non-spouse beneficiary, would be subject to the 10-year rule requiring her to fully deplete the Traditional IRA by December 31, 2030. Since her uncle was past his Required Beginning Date for RMDs, Jessica would be required to take annual RMD in the years 2025 – 2030. (Note that the 2021 – 2024 RMDs were waived due to the IRS delay). Even though her first RMD will not be until 2025, she is still required to deplete the Traditional IRA account by December 31, 2030.
Annual RMD Rules
Many of these examples incorporate the delay in annual RMDs due to the delay in the IRS regulations being released. However, if someone passes away in 2024 and has a non-spouse beneficiary listed on their pre-tax retirement account, the 10-year timeline and the first annual RMD calendar would begin in 2025, which is the year following the decedent’s date of death.
The first RMD is required to be taken by a non-spouse beneficiary by December 31st of the year following the decedent's death.
Inherited Roth IRAs – No RMD Requirement
You will notice in most of my examples that I specifically use a “Traditional IRA” or “Pre-tax Retirement Account.” That is because only pre-tax retirement accounts have the RMD requirement. If you are the original owner of a Roth IRA, Roth IRAs do not require you to take an RMD regardless of your age. So, under the new rules, if you inherit a Roth IRA, since the decedent would not have been required to take an RMD from a Roth IRA at any age, they never had a “Required Beginning Date”. This makes the non-spouse beneficiary subject to the 10-year rule, but no annual RMDs would be required from an inherited Roth IRA.
Note: If you inherit a Roth IRA and you are eligible for the stretch options, annual RMDs are then required from you Inherited Roth IRA account.
Roth 401(k)s Are Different
While typically, Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s have the same rules, the IRS included a weird rule for Roth 401(k)s in the final regulations regarding the RMD requirement. If you inherit a 401(k) plan, it’s possible that there are both Pre-tax and Roth monies within that same account since most 401(k) plans allow plan participants to make either pre-tax deferrals or Roth deferrals to the plan.
Normally I would have thought if a 401(k) account contains both Pre-tax and Roth dollars, as a non-spouse beneficiary, you would have the 10-year rule for the full account balance, but you could ignore the RMD requirement for the Roth dollars, but the annual RMDs on the pre-tax portion of the account would depend on whether or not the decedent passed away before or after their Required Beginning Date for RMDs. Assuming this, I would have been correct for the pre-tax portion of the 401(k) account but potentially wrong about no annual RMDs for the Roth portion of the 401(k) account.
The final regulations state that if the 401(k) account contains ONLY Roth dollars, no pre-tax dollars within the account, then a non-spouse beneficiary is subject to the 10-year rule but DOES NOT have to take annual RMDs during that 10-year period.
However, if the 401(k) account contains both Roth and any other type of pre-tax source, like employee pre-tax deferrals, employer match, and employer profit sharing, which is much more common for 401(k) plans, then the ENTIRE BALANCE in the 401(k) plan, INCLUDING THE ROTH SOURCE, is subject to the annual RMD requirement during the 10-year period. Yuck!!!
This new rule will encourage individuals who have a Roth source within their employer-sponsored retirement plans to roll over their Roth monies within the plan to a Roth IRA before they pass away. By removing that Roth source from the employer-sponsored retirement plans and moving it into a Roth IRA, now when the non-spouse beneficiary inherits the Roth IRA, they are allowed to accumulate those Roth dollars longer within the 10-year period since they are not required to take annual RMDs from a Roth IRA account.
Note: The pre-tax sources within a 401(k) works the same way as inheriting a Traditional IRA. A non-spouse beneficiary would be subject to the 10-year rule and may or may not have to take RMDs during the 10-year period depending on whether or not the decedent dies before or after their Required Beginning Date for RMDs.
Non-Spouse Beneficiaries Eligible For The Stretch Rule Only Had An RMD Waiver for 2020
In 2020, part of the COVID relief packages was the ability to waive taking an RMD during that calendar year. I have run into a few cases where non-spouse beneficiaries that were grandfathered in under the “stretch rules” requiring them to take an annual RMD each year, are getting confused with the delay in the RMD requirement for non-spouse beneficiaries that are subject to the new 10-year rule after December 2019. The delay in the annual RMDs until 2025 for non-spouse beneficiaries ONLY applies to individuals subject to the 10-year rule. If you inherited a retirement account from someone who passed away prior to 2020 or you qualify for one of the exceptions to the 10-Year Rule as a non-spouse beneficiary, you are grandfathered in under the old “Stretch Rule,” which requires the owner of that Inherited IRA to take annual RMD’s from that account each year starting in the calendar year following the decedent’s date of death.
In summary, if you are a stretch rule non-spouse beneficiary, the only year you were allowed to skip your RMD was 2020 per the COVID relief; you should have restarted your annual RMDs in 2021 and taken an RMD for 2021, 2022, and 2023, and subsequent years. If you missed this, the good news is the Secure Act 2.0 also lowered the IRS penalty amount for missed RMDs, from 50% to 25% and even lower to 10% if timely corrected.
Non-Spouse Inherited IRA Tax Strategies
We will be writing a separate article that contains all of the advanced tax strategies that we implement for clients who are non-spouse beneficiaries subject to the 10-year rule since there are a number of them, but here is some of the standard guidance that we provide to our clients.
If you inherit a Roth IRA, that is an ideal situation because even though you are subject to the 10-year rule as a non-spouse beneficiary, all of the accumulation in an Inherited Roth IRA can be withdrawn tax-free.
Example: John inherits a $200,000 Roth IRA from his mother in 2024. John, as a non-spouse beneficiary, will be subject to the 10-year rule, so the account has to be depleted by 2034, but he is not required to take annual RMDs because it’s a Roth IRA account. If John invests the $200,000 wisely and receives an 8% annual rate of return, at the end of 10-year the $200,000 has grown to $431,785 within that Inherited Roth IRA, and the full balance will be distributed to him ALL TAX-FREE.
For this reason, we have a lot more clients processing Roth Conversions in retirement to push more of their net worth from the pre-tax bucket over to the Roth bucket, which is much more favorable for non-spouse beneficiaries when they inherit the account.
For clients that inherit larger pre-tax retirement accounts that are subject to the 10-year rule, we have to develop a detailed tax plan for the next 10 years since we know all of that money will need to be distributed and taxed within the next 10 years, which could cause the money to be taxed at a higher tax rate, increased Medicare premiums, lower financial aid awards for parents with kids in college, have their social security taxed at a higher rate, lose tax deductions, or other negative consequences for showing too much income in a single year.
About Michael……...
Hi, I’m Michael Ruger. I’m the managing partner of Greenbush Financial Group and the creator of the nationally recognized Money Smart Board blog . I created the blog because there are a lot of events in life that require important financial decisions. The goal is to help our readers avoid big financial missteps, discover financial solutions that they were not aware of, and to optimize their financial future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
What did the IRS clarify about non-spouse beneficiary RMDs in 2024?
In July 2024, the IRS issued final regulations confirming that some non-spouse beneficiaries subject to the 10-year rule must begin taking annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) starting in 2025. Whether annual RMDs are required depends on the decedent’s age at death and the type of retirement account inherited.
Who must take annual RMDs under the 10-year rule?
If the decedent passed away after reaching their Required Beginning Date (the age at which RMDs must begin), the non-spouse beneficiary must take annual RMDs during the 10-year depletion period. If the decedent passed before reaching that age, the beneficiary is only required to deplete the account by the end of the 10 years—no annual RMDs are needed.
What are the new RMD start dates for non-spouse beneficiaries?
The IRS delayed required RMDs for non-spouse beneficiaries until 2025. Any missed RMDs for the years 2020–2024 are waived, and beneficiaries are not required to make catch-up distributions for those years.
Does the 10-year rule clock reset under the new regulations?
No. Even though the IRS delayed annual RMDs until 2025, the 10-year period to deplete the inherited account still begins the year after the decedent’s death. Beneficiaries must empty the account by the original deadline.
Do Roth IRAs have RMD requirements for non-spouse beneficiaries?
No. Inherited Roth IRAs are subject to the 10-year rule, but they do not require annual RMDs since Roth owners are never required to take RMDs during their lifetimes. Beneficiaries can let the Roth IRA grow tax-free for the full 10 years before withdrawing the balance.
Are Roth 401(k)s treated differently?
Yes. If a Roth 401(k) contains only Roth dollars, no annual RMDs are required during the 10-year period. However, if the account also contains any pre-tax sources—such as employer matches—the entire balance, including the Roth portion, becomes subject to annual RMDs. Rolling Roth 401(k) funds into a Roth IRA before death can avoid this issue.
What happens to non-spouse beneficiaries who still qualify for the stretch rule?
Those grandfathered under the old stretch rule must continue taking annual RMDs each year. Only 2020 distributions were waived under COVID relief. Any missed RMDs after 2020 may trigger penalties unless corrected under the new reduced penalty rules.
What are key tax considerations for non-spouse beneficiaries?
Inherited Roth IRAs are generally ideal since withdrawals are tax-free. Beneficiaries of large pre-tax accounts should work with a tax professional to spread distributions over several years, minimizing the impact on income taxes, Medicare premiums, and financial aid eligibility.
