Is this a recent IRA clarification? I thought with the Secure Act, the beneficiary of a decedent's IRA (with certain exceptions, e.g., spouse, disabled person) had 10 years to empty out the IRA, in any annual amount they choose over 10 years. If the decedent had already began their RMD, the beneficiary would be responsible for receiving the RMD (and paying taxes on it) in the year of death, if the decedent had not already taken it.
I just checked the IRS website, and the verbiage is the same as earlier:
" For defined contribution plan participants, or Individual Retirement Account owners, who die after December 31, 2019, (with a delayed effective date for certain collectively bargained plans), the SECURE Act requires the entire balance of the participant’s account be distributed within ten years. There is an exception for a surviving spouse, a child who has not reached the age of majority, a disabled or chronically ill person or a person not more than ten years younger than the employee or IRA account owner. The new 10-year rule applies regardless of whether the participant dies before, on, or after, the required beginning date, now age 72."
