It sounds like the customer mistakenly checked the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box when she entered the 1099-R in TurboTax. That would indicate that the payment was from an IRA, not a pension. The program would not ask whether a pension was inherited.
If the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box is checked on the actual 1099-R form, then either the form was filled out incorrectly by the payer, or the form is not for what the customer thinks it's for. It's for an IRA distribution, not a pension.
If she did properly indicate that the 1099-R belongs to her husband, TurboTax is not asking whether she inherited it. It's asking whether her husband inherited it from someone else. The question has nothing to do with whether he is alive or deceased.
