Where the Inherited IRA Five-Year Rule Continues to Be Alive and Well

Post SECURE Acts, most inherited IRA beneficiaries are required to deplete the account within ten years of their inheritance (under prior law, the rules allowed beneficiaries to use their own life expectancies or a five-year payout period). However, the rules are different for non-designated beneficiaries (including estates). For these non-designated beneficiaries, the account must be emptied within five years if the original account owner died on or before their required beginning date (the date at which required minimum distributions begin). No annual distributions are required, as long as the account is depleted by the end of year five. If the original account owner died after RMDs had started, the beneficiary will take distributions over the original owner's single life expectancy. For more information on the rules governing inherited IRAs, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More: Link to Q3905.1.