IRA: surviving spouse

[Felicia]

Accountholder dies prior to annuity starting date. Surviving spouse is sole beneficiary. Surviving spouse can: (1) take a distribution upon death and avoid the early withdrawal penalty; (2) leave money in the account and begin RMDs when the decedent would have attained age 70-1/2. Query: Can survivng spouse take a partial distribution without penalty and leave the balance in the account? If so, how many years can the surviving spouse take partial distributions and avoid the penalty by indicating that the distribution is on account of death, i.e., can this go on indefinitely?

[mbozek]

The Surviving spouse can take withdrawals from the decedent's IRA indefinitely because the payments are on account of the death of the owner. However, the RMDs must commence in the year the decedent would have attained age 70 1/2.