Roth IRA — owner
An owner's Roth IRA has no required minimum distribution during the owner's lifetime. Continue the tax-free compounding indefinitely. Beneficiaries who later inherit the Roth IRA do face required distributions — the 10-year rule (non-EDB) or annual Single Life RMDs (EDB). See the inherited Roth IRA page for the beneficiary path.
Account type
Roth IRA — owner
No RMD required during the owner's lifetime
IRC §408A(c)(5)
Key points
| No owner RMD | IRC §408A(c)(5) explicitly exempts a Roth IRA from the §401(a)(9) RMD machinery during the owner's lifetime. |
| Spouse rollover at death | A surviving spouse can roll the inherited Roth into their own Roth — restoring the owner-exemption. |
| Five-year rule (qualified distribution) | Distinct from RMDs: qualified Roth distributions require the account to have been open 5+ years AND a qualifying event (age 59½, death, disability, first home). |
| Aggregation | Owner Roth IRAs aggregate with each other for FIVE-YEAR-RULE purposes — but since there is no RMD, aggregation does not apply to RMD calculations. |
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Last verified: May 6, 2026 · Pub 590-B post-2022 (TD 9930) divisors.