Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a private retirement account which can provide tax advantages and other financial benefits. This plan can also be inherited by a beneficiary who was chosen by the owner of the account.

The IRA beneficiary can be the owner’s spouse, child, corporation, or anyone as long as he/she is the legal recipient of the plan. It is also possible to have more than one IRA beneficiaries, but owners must state from their will and testament the names of the people and the percentage each of them will receive in case that he or she passes away. For multiple beneficiaries, it is possible to individually apply a five-year rule in a case where the plan holder dies even before the he or she receives any distribution.

In addition to this arrangement, the individual who have the shortest life expectancy years is the one who will determine the amount of the distribution. With this, it would only be advantageous if the plan holder chooses multiple beneficiaries who all have longer life expectancies. But in cases where the beneficiaries have wide age differences, there is a set-up solution for this. Create a separate IRA accounts or segregated shares for each individual beneficiary since this system will allow each recipient to have distribution based on his or her life expectancy.

Separate IRA accounts require the plan holder to make a separate account for each of his or her beneficiaries. This can also be done even after the owner passes away, as long as the distributions have not yet been released; this is only retroactive after the plan holder dies.

This plan can also be paid in installments or annual payments, as long as this period will not exceed beyond the beneficiary’s expected lifespan.

In cases where the IRA owner decides to appoint a beneficiary who is not his or her living spouse, the latter is required to sign a document which gives consent to this kind of arrangement. If this procedure is not done, the beneficiary will not get benefits from this account.

Also, if the chosen beneficiary is not the owner’s spouse, he or she is only provided with limited options. In a case where the account holders had received part of their distributions before they die, it is compulsory to pay the remaining share as soon as possible. In effect, the beneficiary can not prolong the distribution period chosen by the plan holder.

Meanwhile, if the IRA owner is receiving allotment from his or her life expectancy, the non-spouse beneficiaries can change this arrangement to their own life expectancy years. Also, they must be sure that their names are clearly stated from the will of the plan holder. It is very important to the recipients to take care of the necessary steps in making sure that all the pertinent details on the IRA account is correct.

For those people who find IRA requirements and procedures quite complex, it is advisable to seek assistance from a financial professional who specializes from tax law.