MW My mom inherited my dad's IRA. She celebrates her 70th birthday this year - is her RMD due at 73?

By Alessandra Malito

'Can she follow the SECURE Act rules and wait until 73?'

Dear Help Me Retire,

My father passed away in 2016 at the age of 67 and my mother inherited his traditional IRA. She is treating it as her own. He had not started any RMDs prior to his death. A few statements in the Internal Revenue Service guidance has me second guessing everything.

According to the IRS guidance, this means she would follow the RMD rules that apply to her only, and not any RMDs based on what would have been his age, correct? As it was inherited in 2016, does she have to begin RMDs at age 70 1/2, or can she follow the SECURE Act rules and wait until 73?

She will turn 70 and reach 70 1/2 this year.

Reasoning with RMDs

See: Social Security stopped a man's benefits because he was presumed dead. Could that happen to me?

Dear Reasoning,

Required minimum distribution, or RMD, rules are confusing, and they can be different based on individual situations, such as if the deceased had already begun RMDs, how the beneficiary accepts the inheritance or if he or she is the only one. Then there's the RMD age itself, which changed multiple times in the last few years, and is expected to change again in less than a decade.

Believe me when I tell you, you're surely not the only person to second-guess yourself about this. That said, you've got all the details in place to make it pretty simple for yourself and your mom.

The Internal Revenue Service says as the sole beneficiary of the account where the original owner died before 2020 but prior to RMDs kicking in, your mom can keep the money as an inherited account or roll it over into her own IRA. On another IRS page, it states: "If you elect to be treated as the owner, you determine the required minimum distribution (if any) as if you were the owner beginning with the year you elect or are deemed to be the owner."

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Rolling the money over into an IRA in her name is one option other types of beneficiaries don't have, according to Fidelity Investments. "This may be a good choice if you don't have an immediate need to tap into your spouse's IRA assets and you are looking to keep the money in a tax-advantaged account for as long as possible," the firm said.

Distributions will be based on her age, not your dad's. "If you choose to roll over the inherited IRA assets to your own IRA, the rules for RMDs will still apply," Fidelity said. "This means you must withdraw a certain amount of money from your IRA each year starting in the year you turn 73."

So that's what she's supposed to do given the avenue she's taken with the money. As for when, it depends on when she was born.

Ed Slott and Co., which specializes in IRAs, has a breakdown of RMD ages on its website. If your mom is turning 70 this year, that means she was born in 1955. According to his breakdown, anyone born between Jan. 1, 1951 and Dec. 31, 1959 has an RMD age of 73, according to the Secure 2.0 Act.

I hope that clears things up!

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-Alessandra Malito

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April 04, 2025 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT)

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