14 Apr How must I take distributions from an inherited IRA?

Q. If you received an inherited IRA before the SECURE Act and have been taking the required distributions, do you still have to take the money out within 10 years? I am not yet in my 70s.
— Beneficiary

A. The timing of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) did have a massive change under the SECURE Act.

Under the old rule, you could take RMDs based on your life expectancy.

That allowed you to “stretch” the IRA over your lifetime, said Bill Connington of Connington Wealth Management in Paramus.

“Under the new rules you have to take dollars out in 10 years, but you are not required to take RMDs each year, meaning you can take all the money out any way you want as long as it is done in 10 years,” he said.

But you’re not subject to the rule for an IRA that was inherited before the SECURE Act.

“For those investors already taking RMDs, those Stretch IRA’s are grandfathered under the old rules,” Connington said.

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This story was originally published on April 14, 2020.

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