Beneficiary IRA Your Questions Answered

By: Jessica Haug

A Beneficiary IRA or an Inherited IRA, as it is sometimes known, is when the account is transferred to a spouse or other beneficiary after the death of the account holder. The funds from an existing Traditional, Simple or Roth IRA are transferred into an Inherited IRA. This allows the funds to remain tax-free until the IRS requests that the funds are released.

The beneficiary has to have been named by the account holder in order to be eligible to open a Beneficiary IRA. The existing IRA is transferred into the beneficiaries name and can basically be treated as their own, if they are a spouse.

If the beneficiary is not a spouse then they cannot use the account as they wish and they are not allowed to move the funds to their own account. Non-spouse beneficiaries are also not allowed to keep the existing IRA account open. A Beneficiary IRA can be either a Roth, Simple or Traditional account but more funds cannot be added to the new account. The recipient will be asked to take an RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) but contributions can be deferred until this time.

There are certain rules pertaining to the new accounts which are based on factors such as the type of the original account, the type of the new account and the age of the account holder when they passed away.

There were new rules brought out in 2001 which makes the whole process and the advantages of a beneficiary IRA a lot clearer and simpler. Previously the funds in an Inherited IRA had to be depleted within a 5 year period. It is now the case that the funds can be distributed over a period of many years, frequently over many decades. This way the funds can continue to be tax deferred which is an advantage for the beneficiary.

It also meant that the original holder of the account could pay smaller Required Minimum Distribution amounts and so this could leave quite a substantial amount in the account for any beneficiaries. The spouse of the account holder can also use the account as their own or opt to add beneficiaries to the account; this means that someone else will inherit the account after the spouse has passed away.

It is vital that everyone has the best retirement plan that is suited to them. Without the best retirement plan for your needs you may receive less than you expect and have little money to live on after you retire.

The world of the Beneficiary IRA may be puzzling but any queries you have can be answered by browsing the internet. If you have a financial professional who deal with all of you finances you can also talk to them about these accounts.

Article Source: http://yourfinance.co.za

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