Required minimum distributions (RMDs) for spouses took a slightly new turn under the SECURE Act of 2019. The Required Beginning Date (RBD) was changed to April 1 of the year after the participant would have reached age 72. The RBD age for the past 44 years was 70-1/2.
​
If the participant died before his or her RBD...

​The SECURE Act of 2019 introduced a new term “Eligible Designated Beneficiary.” The Act established a 10-Year Rule as the maximum payout period for inherited retirement accounts that were inherited from participants dying after 12/31/2019, with a few exceptions. The exceptions apply to Eligible Designated Beneficiaries (EDBs), defined as follows:

​The SECURE Act (2019) dramatically altered the retirement rules, including the introduction of a 10-Year Rule. Under this rule, account custodians must distribute the total amount of the retirement account to the inheritor within ten years. 

​The complexity of each Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) scenario can be mind-boggling. The best approach is to set up each client scenario in a client relationship management (CRM) system such as ProTracker Advantage®.
Once the initial parameters for a client scenario are saved, an RMD Wizard may be used to rapidly compute each client’s RMD for the new year. There is no need to look up longevity factors in a table and type them into a spreadsheet.

​The first step in calculating a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is to understand the client scenario. There are six possible scenarios.