Inherited IRA Rollovers and RMD Rules for Surviving Spouses

Surviving spouses have a unique option: you can roll an inherited IRA into your own, which resets the distribution timeline based on your age. This spousal rollover is unavailable to other beneficiaries and can significantly delay required withdrawals if you're younger than your spouse.

Surviving spouses get a unique option: you can roll the inherited account into your own IRA. This treats it as if it was always yours, which changes when required minimum distributions start and how they're calculated. No other type of beneficiary can do this.

Why that matters for timing. Non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited retirement account within ten years. As a surviving spouse, you can stretch distributions across your own lifetime. If your spouse was older than you, rolling into your own IRA lets you use your own younger age for RMD calculations, potentially delaying when distributions must begin.

No step-up basis here. Unlike brokerage accounts, retirement accounts were funded with pre-tax dollars that were never taxed. Every withdrawal is ordinary income, regardless of when the account was opened or how much it grew.

The tradeoff: The rollover decision can be difficult to reverse. If you're under 59-1/2, rolling into your own IRA means early withdrawals trigger a 10% penalty. Keeping it as an inherited IRA avoids that penalty, which matters if you need the money before retirement age.