Surviving Spouse IRA: Inherited vs. Own RMD Comparison

A widow or widower who inherits a spouse’s IRA can take it as their own or leave it titled as inherited. Doing nothing leaves it inherited, which puts the account on the Single Life Expectancy table and forces out more every year than the Uniform Lifetime table would. Enter your own figures to compare the two schedules year by year, with required distributions, tax paid, remaining balance, and after-tax value.

1. Your assumptions

Who is assumed to die firstThe other spouse becomes the survivor.

Spouse A age today

Spouse B age today

Age at death of the first spouseAt least that spouse’s age today.

IRA balance at that death ($)

Assumed annual return (%)

Assumed tax rate on withdrawals (%)

Project through survivor’s age

2. The year of death

Survivor is the sole beneficiaryRequired before Table II can apply.

Already taken that year ($)What the deceased owner had withdrawn before dying.

Model the year-of-death distribution

Age gap at the first death

2 years, the deceased spouse was older

IRS table that produced the factor

Uniform Lifetime (III)

Factor read from that table

22.0

Distribution owed for that year

$21,818

Beneficiary must still complete

$21,818

The beneficiary must complete $21,818 of the year-of-death distribution. The deceased spouse had reached their required beginning date, so $21,818 is owed for 2026, calculated on Table III, the Uniform Lifetime table. That amount leaves the account on either path, so the death year shows the same figure in both columns below, and the survivor’s own schedule begins the following year. Table II governed the owner's lifetime only; it does not carry forward to either of the survivor's choices.

3. How the two paths diverge

Left as an inherited IRATaken as the survivor’s own IRA

4. Year-by-year schedule

Survivor is 76 in 2026. Inherited-path distributions begin at age 77. Owner-path distributions begin at age 77. Year-end columns show the balance after that year’s withdrawal and growth.
Year	Survivor’s age	Left as inherited IRA			Taken as own IRA			Extra forced out	Extra tax that year
Year	Survivor’s age	Factor	RMD	Year-end	Factor	RMD	Year-end	Extra forced out	Extra tax that year
2026year of death	76	22.0	$21,818	$481,091	22.0	$21,818	$481,091	—	—
2027	77	13.3	$36,172	$467,165	22.9	$21,008	$483,087	$15,164	$3,639
2028	78	12.6	$37,077	$451,592	22.0	$21,958	$484,185	$15,118	$3,628
2029	79	11.9	$37,949	$434,326	21.1	$22,947	$484,299	$15,002	$3,600
2030	80	11.2	$38,779	$415,324	20.2	$23,975	$483,340	$14,804	$3,553
2031	81	10.5	$39,555	$394,558	19.4	$24,914	$481,347	$14,640	$3,514
2032	82	9.9	$39,854	$372,439	18.5	$26,019	$478,095	$13,836	$3,321
2033	83	9.3	$40,047	$349,011	17.7	$27,011	$473,638	$13,036	$3,129
2034	84	8.7	$40,116	$324,340	16.8	$28,193	$467,718	$11,923	$2,862
2035	85	8.1	$40,042	$298,512	16.0	$29,232	$460,409	$10,810	$2,594
Total			$371,409	$298,512		$247,077	$460,409	$124,333	$29,840

Important: A required distribution is a floor, not a ceiling. The survivor can always take more in any year. Negative figures in the two right-hand columns would mean the owner path required more that year, which happens only before the inherited schedule has begun.

5. What the numbers do and don’t say

A required distribution is a floor, not a ceiling. The survivor can always take more than the required amount, in any year, for any reason. What the lower schedule buys is the choice; the higher one removes it, every January, whether the money is needed or not.

Money forced out early has not disappeared. It has been taxed sooner and moved somewhere less sheltered for the rest of the survivor’s life. The panel below puts a rough figure on that, using one more assumption.

After-tax comparison, including the money already withdrawn

This assumes every required distribution is spent on nothing: taxed at the rate entered, then reinvested in a taxable account earning the same return, with that return taxed annually at the same rate. It is a simplification chosen for legibility, not a projection of anyone’s actual outcome. Real portfolios mix income and long-term gains, which are taxed differently, and real households spend some of the money.

	Left as inherited	Taken as own
Still inside the IRA at age 85, after tax	$226,869	$349,911
Held in a taxable account from past distributions	$344,680	$229,213
Total after-tax value	$571,549	$579,124
Difference in favor of taking it as own	—	$7,575

Method, tables and assumptions

Two tables. A beneficiary uses the Single Life Expectancy table. An owner uses the Uniform Lifetime table, which spreads the balance over a longer period and therefore requires less each year. A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary re-reads the Single Life table at their own attained age each year rather than reducing a fixed factor by one.
Each year’s RMD is the balance at the start of that year divided by the factor for that age. The remainder is then grown for a full year at the return entered. Distributions are modeled as taken at the start of the year, which is the more conservative placement.
Required beginning age is set by date of birth, and four bands are in force at once. Born before July 1, 1949: 70½, and distributions must have started years ago. Born July 1, 1949 through December 31, 1950: 72, and distributions must have started by April 1, 2023 at the latest. Born 1951 through 1959: 73. Born 1960 or later: 75. The first two bands are historical, since everyone in them is already past the age; they change what the page states about the rule rather than either schedule.
70½ in a schedule of whole years. The comparison steps through attained ages one year at a time, so for the 70½ band the first year that can require a distribution is the year the survivor turns 71. That is the later of the two possible first years, and it matters only in the abstract, because nobody in that band is under 71 today.
When distributions start. As owner, in the year the survivor reaches their own required beginning age. As beneficiary, in the later of the year following the death or the year the deceased spouse would have reached that age. Required beginning ages are derived from age today and the current calendar year, so a birthday near year-end can shift a band by a year, and the July 1, 1949 cutoff cannot be settled from an age at all.
The year-of-death distribution is modeled when the deceased spouse had reached their required beginning date. It is calculated on the owner’s table at the owner’s age at death, comes out of the account on either path, and the beneficiary is responsible for completing whatever the owner had not already taken. The survivor’s own schedule then begins the following year. Switching this off restores the source article’s framing, in which the comparison opens in the death year on the survivor’s table and the year-of-death amount is left out.
Which table produces that final figure. An owner whose sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger is on Table II, Joint Life and Last Survivor, for their lifetime, and Table II still produces the year-of-death figure. Everyone else is on Table III, Uniform Lifetime. Table II is read on both ages at once and is not embedded in this tool; a factor must be supplied for that case. Table II governs the owner’s lifetime only and never carries forward to the survivor, on either titling choice.
The balance entered is treated as the amount in the account at the start of the first year shown, before any distribution for that year.
One flat rate is applied to every dollar withdrawn. Actual tax depends on total income, filing status, which changes for a survivor after the year of death, bracket structure, state tax, IRMAA surcharges and the taxation of Social Security. Those interactions can be larger than the difference shown here.
A constant return every year. Real returns vary, and a sequence of poor early returns changes both schedules. The tool does not model volatility, inflation, fees, Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions, or the SECURE 2.0 election allowing a surviving spouse to be treated as the deceased employee for certain plan distributions.
Results vary with each use and over time, and change with every input.

Cost of leaving it inherited

More forced out of the IRA

$124,333

Additional income tax paid

$29,840

Less left inside the IRA at the end

$161,897

Over 10 years, from the survivor’s age 76 to 85, leaving the account titled as inherited forces out $124,333 more than taking it as the survivor’s own.

Additional RMD Taken

25.9%

A large difference

This share is arithmetic on the figures entered, not a rating, forecast, or recommendation.

Distribution timing

Survivor’s age at the first death

Years in the projection

Survivor’s required beginning age

Deceased spouse’s required beginning age

70½

Inherited path begins

Age 77

Owner path begins

Age 77

Which required beginning age applies

Survivor — 72. Born July 1, 1949 through December 31, 1950. Distributions must have started by April 1, 2023 at the latest.

Deceased spouse — 70½. Born before July 1, 1949. Distributions must have started years ago, by April 1 of the year after reaching 70½.

A birth date is needed here: the 70½ and 72 bands are split by July 1, 1949, and this tool works from an age rather than a date of birth. One of the two spouses falls near that line, and 72 has been applied. Both bands are long past, so the schedule below is the same either way, but confirm the date of birth before relying on the stated rule.

This is an interactive analysis tool and its outcomes are hypothetical in nature. They are not based on any actual portfolio or account, were not achieved by any investor, and do not reflect actual trading, fees, expenses, taxes as actually assessed, or how any adviser might have responded to market or economic events. The results are arithmetic consequences of the assumptions entered, and they will vary with each use and over time.

Criteria and methodology. The tool applies IRS life expectancy factors to a single traditional IRA balance and compounds the remainder at a single fixed rate chosen by the user. It considers no universe of investments, selects no securities, favors no investment or strategy, and expresses no view on any investment. Its key limitations and assumptions are listed under “Method, tables and assumptions” above and should be read before relying on any figure.

No forecast, and a potential for loss. Nothing here predicts or guarantees any result. The assumed rate of return is an input, not an expectation. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal; an account may lose value, and a negative return entered will show that. A required distribution is required whether the account has risen or fallen, so a falling market and a required withdrawal can compound each other.

Not a basis for a decision on its own. No chart, table, formula or tool of this kind should be used by itself to determine what investments to make or how an account should be titled. The right answer turns on facts this tool does not see.

No tax or legal advice. Please consult your CPA before choosing between these two options. The IRS rules governing required minimum distributions, beneficiary elections and early-withdrawal penalties are detailed and subject to change, and the choice described here is generally irrevocable in practice once it is made.

Sources. Life expectancy factors: IRS Single Life Expectancy Table (Table I), Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table (Table II) where supplied, and Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III), IRS Publication 590-B, Appendix B. Prompted by John Urban, “Widow’s IRA Choice,” HumbleDollar, Sept. 12, 2026; illustrative figures referenced in the introduction derive from that article. Required beginning ages reflect the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 Act as described there.

Definitions. Terms used on this page are defined in the .

Surviving Spouse IRA Glossary

Accounts

Inherited IRA

An IRA that remains titled in the deceased owner’s name for the benefit of a beneficiary. A surviving spouse who takes no action leaves the account here.

Spousal Assumption

Retitling an inherited IRA into the survivor’s own name, which moves the account onto the owner rules. Generally irrevocable in practice once made.

Distributions

RMD

Required minimum distribution — the amount the IRS requires to be withdrawn from a tax-deferred retirement account each year. It is a floor, not a ceiling.

Required Beginning Age

The age at which distributions must start, set by date of birth: 70½ for births before July 1, 1949; 72 for July 1, 1949 through December 31, 1950; 73 for 1951 through 1959; and 75 for 1960 or later. The first two bands pre-date the SECURE Act and everyone in them is already past the age.

Required Beginning Date

The deadline for the first distribution: April 1 of the year after the required beginning age is reached. Someone born on December 31, 1950 faced April 1, 2023, the last such deadline in the 72 band. Later years are due by December 31.

Year-of-Death Distribution

The distribution owed on the deceased owner’s own account for the year they died, if they had reached their required beginning date. It is calculated on the owner’s table, not the survivor’s, and the beneficiary is responsible for completing whatever the owner had not already taken.

Tables

Life Expectancy Factor

The divisor from the applicable IRS table used to compute the year’s RMD. A larger factor produces a smaller required withdrawal.

Single Life Expectancy Table

The table a beneficiary uses. A sole-beneficiary surviving spouse re-reads it at their own attained age each year rather than reducing a fixed factor by one.

Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table

Table II in Publication 590-B, Appendix B. An IRA owner whose sole beneficiary is a spouse more than 10 years younger uses it instead of the Uniform Lifetime table, which produces a larger factor and so a smaller required distribution. It is read on two ages at once, the owner’s and the spouse’s.

Sole Spousal Beneficiary More Than 10 Years Younger

The condition that puts an owner on Table II. Both parts are needed: the spouse must be the sole beneficiary and must be more than 10 years younger. This tool compares whole-year ages in the year of death, so a gap of exactly 10 years does not qualify.

Uniform Lifetime Table

The table an owner uses. It spreads the balance over a longer period and therefore requires less each year.

Measures

Extra Forced Out

Total required distributions on the inherited path minus total required distributions on the owner path, over the projection. It can be zero if distributions have not begun on either path.

Share of Balance Forced Out

Extra forced out divided by the IRA balance at the first death, shown as a percentage. An arithmetic scale of the gap, not a rating of either choice.

Penalties

10% Early-Withdrawal Penalty

Applies to distributions before age 59½ under the ordinary owner rules. Distributions paid to a beneficiary on account of the owner’s death are exempt at any age.

This tool

Taxable Side Account

A modeling device in the after-tax comparison: each required distribution is taxed at the rate entered, then grown at the same return with that growth taxed annually. A simplification, not a projection.