QDRO Retirement Income

[CAcatmom]

My husband receives monthly payments from his ex-wife's Avaya retirement plan under a QDRO from their divorce. He turned 70.5 in October 2017. We have never received any notification from either Avaya or the USPBGC (who is now administering the retirement plan because Avaya went bankrupt or something) about needing to take an RMD, or what that amount would be. However, this year, all of a sudden, TurboTax is saying we need to do this, which means we should have also been doing this for 2017 and 2019. Is it true he needs to take an RMD? If so, how do we know how much it would be -- is it based on his ex-wife's age/life expectancy, or on his? Do we need to file amended tax returns for 2017 and 2018, and excise tax for not making these payments in 2017, 2018 and 2019?

[VolvoGirl]

Don't know why it didn't ask you for the RMD starting in 2017.  Maybe his date of birth is wrong in Turbo Tax?  Don't worry about that anyway.  If you are 70 1/2 it will ask you if it is the RMD.  Say yes.  Anything your pension pays you is considered to be the  RMD.

[dmertz]

The Required Beginning Date for distributions to an alternate payee of a qualified retirement plan under a QDRO is based on the age of the participant (the ex-wife), not on the age of the alternate payee (your husband).