On catch's suggestion, I moved this from Off Topic to Other Investing.
My husband died July 1. I have not notified every business that needed notification. I just got the death certificates yesterday. My husband's email this morning had a confirmation that his RMD was scheduled for 2022. I went over to his account on Vanguard. It shows the scheduling, but the transfer has not been completed. I was going to talk to Vanguard about taking an RMD after death but, guess what, I am not a customer that can call outside the hours of 8AM-8PM EST weekdays. No service on Saturday. I guess that is why they send these type messages overnight between Fridays and Saturdays. I am almost sure the RMD is slated to go from IRA to Brokerage at Vanguard. Is there any way to report this death to Vanguard on a Saturday? What happens if activity like this occurs after death? And, yes, I am the sole beneficiary on all his accounts.
Comments
Sincerely,
Catch
First, RMDs are also required for the year of the death. So, a scheduled RMD is OK. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds#:~:text=For the year of the,identity of the designated beneficiary.
"For the year of the account owner’s death, use the RMD the account owner would have received. For the year following the owner’s death, the RMD will depend on the identity of the designated beneficiary."
Second, there is just NO WAY to contact Vanguard except during weekday hours. I had Vanguard account alert once on late-Friday and my account was locked. I looked for a variety of ways to get hold of Vanguard customer service or its security department but nothing worked. So, I called promptly on Monday 8:01 AM Eastern and got hold of someone at Vanguard. When I complained about not getting through over the weekend, the Rep tried to reassure me that the account was locked for security and there was nothing to worry or be concerned about. I didn't feel reassured but there is really nothing else that can be done at/by Vanguard. Low ERs and poor service are its goals.
I speak from experience here. When a parent died, the instant I notified Vanguard I no longer had access to account information. That's really a total lockup.
Anticipating this, I downloaded everything I might need. (I had the account password.) That included monthly statements YTD, last year's end of year statement, 2021 tax forms, and a snapshot of current balances as of day of death. In your case, you should also get a record of the RMD schedule. Then notify Vanguard.
If your husband was born in 1950 (72nd birthday this year) then because of death before April 1, 2023 (required beginning date) no RMD is required. This is the only reason to rush to notify Vanguard - it could prevent an unnecessary withdrawal.
(The line Yogi quoted is more a description of how to calculate the RMD amount than a declaration that there are no RMD exceptions. For better clarity, see:
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b#en_US_2021_publink100090082 )
Otherwise, an RMD is required for 2022. If it was not made from the IRA prior to death, then it must be made from the beneficiary IRA and that income is supposed to be attributed to the beneficiary. Let Vanguard sort out how it will report the distribution.