Who Is an Eligible Designated Beneficiary?
The five EDB categories, the age-21 rule for a deceased owner’s child, and the disability, chronic-illness, and documentation details that change the RMD path.
↗Topic · 11 guides
Beneficiary Status
Who counts as an eligible designated beneficiary, a designated beneficiary, or neither — the classification that determines every other rule.
Non-Spouse Inherited IRA Rules: What You Cannot Treat as Your Own IRA
Key operational differences for someone inheriting an IRA from a parent, sibling, friend, or other non-spouse owner.
↗
Adult Child Inherited IRA: Why Most Adult Children Fall Under the 10-Year Rule
An adult son or daughter is not automatically an eligible designated beneficiary. Here is the classification test that determines whether the 10-year rule applies.
↗
Minor Child Inherits an IRA: What Changes When the Child Turns 21?
The owner’s minor child can receive eligible-designated-beneficiary treatment, but the final regulations start a new 10-year clock when the child reaches age 21.
↗
Grandchild Under 21 Inherits an IRA: Why the Minor-Child Exception Usually Does Not Apply
A beneficiary can be a legal minor and still miss the SECURE Act minor-child EDB exception because that exception is tied to the deceased owner’s child.
↗
Disabled Beneficiary and the Inherited IRA: The EDB Standard, Safe Harbor, and Documentation
The disability EDB rule turns on the beneficiary’s condition at the owner’s death, with a Social Security safe harbor and special documentation rules for employer plans.
↗
Chronically Ill Beneficiary and the Inherited IRA: Qualification and Documentation Rules
How the chronically ill EDB category works, what the health-care-practitioner certification is for, and why the status must exist at the owner’s death.
↗
Inherited IRA “Not More Than 10 Years Younger” Rule: How the EDB Age Test Actually Works
This EDB category is based on exact dates of birth, not calendar-year ages or family relationship. A sibling, friend, or older beneficiary may qualify.
↗
Beneficiary Older Than the IRA Owner: EDB Status and the Post-Death RMD Denominator
An older beneficiary can satisfy the “not more than 10 years younger” EDB test, but the owner’s remaining life expectancy may still control the annual denominator after death.
↗
Who Counts as the Owner’s “Child” for the Minor-Child EDB Rule?
The final regulations use the tax-code definition of child, which can include a stepchild, adopted child, and eligible foster child—but not every younger relative.
↗
Can You Contribute New Money to an Inherited IRA?
A non-spouse inherited IRA is a distribution account tied to the deceased owner; it is not an extra personal IRA contribution bucket.
↗