By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®
IRA Analyst
In our December 8, 2025 Slott Report entry (“Yes, RMDs Apply to Inherited Roth IRAs, But…”), we wrote about the application of required minimum distributions (RMDs) to inherited Roth IRAs. As expected, that article received significant attention. One reader asked if we could expand on the topic by discussing how an inherited Roth IRA is passed to the next beneficiary in line, i.e., to a successor beneficiary.
Successor beneficiaries (the beneficiary of a beneficiary) do NOT get to use any of their own personal information or status to dictate the payout structure of an inherited IRA. It does NOT matter who the successor beneficiary is or what the successor’s relationship to the first beneficiary is. It does NOT matter if the successor is a spouse, disabled or a minor child. The successor’s status as either an eligible designated beneficiary (EDB) or a non-eligible designated beneficiary (NEDB) plays NO role in determining the required payout of the inherited IRA. The successor simply “steps into the shoes” of the previous beneficiary and follows the exact same payout program that applied to the original Roth IRA beneficiary, with one exception (outlined in Example #2 below).
As explained in the December 8 Slott Report article, if the first beneficiary of a Roth IRA is an NEDB, then the 10-year rule applies. Since original Roth IRA owners are never subject to RMDs while alive, there are no annual RMDs in years 1-9 within the 10-year period. The account simply needs to be emptied by the end of the 10th year, starting in the year after the year of death. If the first beneficiary dies during that 10-year period, the successor beneficiary “steps into the shoes” of the first beneficiary and continues with the existing 10-year window, still with no annual RMDs. A successor does NOT get to add an additional 10 years.
Example 1, NEDB: Grandfather Gary dies with a Roth IRA. The beneficiary of Grandfather Gary’s Roth IRA is Adult Son Sam, who qualifies as an NEDB. As such, Adult Son Sam gets the 10-year rule with no annual RMDs within the 10-year period. Sadly, Adult Son Sam dies 7 years later. The successor beneficiary for Adult Son Sam’s inherited Roth IRA is Wife Wanda. It does not matter that Wife Wanda is the spouse of the first beneficiary. Wife Wanda is a successor beneficiary. Wife Wanda steps into the shoes of the first beneficiary and continues with the existing 10-year period. Wife Wanda must empty the inherited Roth IRA within 3 years.
The December 8 Slott Report also outlined how an EDB can leverage the stretch RMD rules on an inherited Roth IRA. The status of the original beneficiary impacts the successor’s payout.
Example 2, EDB: Grandma Jones dies with a Roth IRA. The beneficiary of Grandma Jones’ Roth IRA is Daughter Debbie. Daughter Debbie is disabled, which qualifies her as an EDB. Accordingly, Daughter Debbie can stretch annual RMDs on the inherited Roth IRA over her own single life expectancy. Sadly, Daughter Debbie dies 7 years later. The successor beneficiary for Daughter Debbie’s inherited Roth IRA is Husband Harold. It does not matter that Husband Harold is the spouse of the first beneficiary. Husband Harold is a successor beneficiary. Husband Harold steps into the shoes of the first beneficiary. Husband Harold continues with Debbie’s exact same RMD factor, minus 1.0 each year. Additionally, Husband Harold must ALSO initiate a 10-year period. Husband Harold will have annual RMDs in years 1-9 and must empty the inherited Roth IRA by the end of the 10th year after the year of the first beneficiary’s death. (If Husband Harold dies within 10 years, the next beneficiary, the successor of the successor, would step into Harold’s shoes and continue with the same RMD factor and whatever remains of the 10-year window).
If you have technical questions you would like to have answered, be sure to submit them to mailbag@irahelp.com, to be answered on an upcoming Slott Report Mailbag, published every Thursday.
https://irahelp.com/inherited-roth-iras-and-successor-beneficiaries/