One important way that IRAs differ from company retirement plans is with respect to spousal financial rights. Most married IRA owners do not need spousal consent before designating a beneficiary other than the spouse. By contrast, most married plan participants do need to get their spouse to agree to a non-spouse beneficiary. And married participants in some types of plans also need spousal consent before taking a lump sum distribution from the plan.
The federal ERISA law gives spouses of plan participants in ERISA-covered plans certain rights to the participant’s account. There are two types of ERISA financial protection for spouses. Spouses of IRA owners usually don’t have similar rights.
The first type of protection applies to all ERISA plans. Those plans must automatically treat a married participant’s spouse as his beneficiary – unless the participant designates another beneficiary and the spouse gives written consent. (Spouses in community property states also receive this protection for IRAs established during marriage.)
Question:
I am retired and turned 72 in September, 2021, so I must begin required beginning distributions (RMDs) by April, 2022. I have traditional and Roth IRAs as well as a defined contribution plan with a former employer. I understand I must withdraw my RMD before withdrawing an amount for anything else (e.g., Roth conversion) from both my traditional IRA and my defined contribution plan. But is that requirement limited to withdrawals within each type of plan (IRA and defined contribution)?
This week's Slott Report Mailbag answers readers' questions about rollovers, spouse as the beneficiary, and the backdoor Roth.
