A Costly and Unnecessary DetourA Costly and Unnecessary Detour
Few things in the tax code are clearer than this: A surviving spouse named as the beneficiary of retirement plan death benefits of a deceased spouse can roll those death benefits into her own individual retirement accounts (IRA). But one regulation is generating confusion about what happens when these death benefits first go to a trust or estate of which the surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary.
Micheal J. Jones
Few things in the tax code are clearer than this: A surviving spouse named as the beneficiary of retirement plan death benefits of a deceased spouse can roll those death benefits into her own individual retirement accounts (IRA). But one regulation is generating confusion about what happens when these death benefits first go to a trust or estate of which the surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary. As a result, 45 private letter rulings (PLRs) have been published on this question. So far, the Internal Revenue Service's answer has always been, “Yes, go ahead.” It's high time the Service issue guidance to assure everyone that this is the case.
When a surviving spouse is named as the beneficiary of a qualified plan that the ...
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