Spouse's RMD options for pre-2020 inherited IRA

Quick answer: The documents provided cover the current (2025) rules for inherited IRAs, and they explicitly say inherited IRAs from decedents who died before 2020 follow different rules that aren't detailed here — so I can't give you the pre-SECURE-Act rules from these sources. You'll need to check IRS "Retirement Topics – Beneficiary" guidance or a CPA for the rules that applied back in 2014.

What the documents do say:

The current publication flags this gap directly: "IRAs inherited from decedents who died in 2019 or earlier are subject to different rules. See Retirement Topics - Beneficiary, for more information."¹ That's the IRS's own signal that a 2014 death falls outside the framework described in these excerpts.

General background (not from these documents, and not tax advice): Before the SECURE Act (which changed the rules starting with deaths in 2020), a surviving spouse who was the sole beneficiary of a traditional IRA typically had choices similar in spirit to today's — treat the IRA as your own, roll it into your own IRA, or remain a beneficiary and take distributions on your own life expectancy — but the specific mechanics (tables, deadlines, and "stretch" provisions) predate the newer 10-year rule framework entirely. Since your husband was only 43 in 2014, he died well before any required beginning date, which under today's rules would trigger different treatment than a post-required-beginning-date death — but the 2014-era rules are what actually governed your options at that time, and those aren't in the documents I have.

What it depends on:

• The exact rules in effect in 2014, which differ from the current publication's framework
• Whether you already made an election back then (e.g., treated the IRA as your own, started life-expectancy payments, or left it as an inherited IRA)
• Whether any transition relief under the SECURE Act or later guidance applies to your account now

Bottom line: Because your husband died in 2014, this is a legacy situation the current Pub. 590-B doesn't fully address, and getting it wrong (especially regarding what election you may have already made, and what your RMDs should be now) can carry excise tax consequences. This is a good one to bring to a CPA who can review your account history and any elections made at the time.