Roth IRAs and Required Minimum Distributions

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are not required for Roth IRAs while the participant is alive. It is one of the major advantages of a Roth vs. a regular IRA. However at death distributions become required for the beneficiary under the inherited IRA rules. A spouse has the option of rolling over the Roth IRA to his or her own Roth IRA which is the best option since the RMDs can be smaller, because they are determined by the uniform lifetime table instead of the single life table. Beneficiaries of inherited IRAs other than the spouse must use the single life table. Any amount of an RMD which is not distributed is subject to a 50% excess accumulation penalty.