Open Spousal Roth IRA after Spouse 70 1/2?

Non-working spouse turned 70 1/2 last year (2015) - first Tradition IRA RMD taken accordingly. Working spouse continues to produce necessary earned income with no threshold complications etc. and MFJ is the long standing method.

Can a Spousal Roth IRA be opened for [that] non-working, 70 1/2+ spouse?

So far all the readings I have found indicate that, for all practical purposes, there are no RMD requirements for a Roth IRA and contributions can continue after 70 1/2 so it seems logical to assume a [new] Roth IRA could be opened in order to make contributions.

I have not been able to uncover any statements saying or implying a Spousal Roth IRA cannot be opened after spouse attains age 70 1/2. The current FI approached for opening such an account (the Traditional IRA RMD FI) says you can't do it but I hesitate to accept their interpretation.

Is there some source that I have not yet come across that clarifies when a Roth IRA may no longer be opened? It sure seems like a reasonable thing to be able to do - take the Tradition IRA RMD, pay the tax then put the remained into a Roth. Can this be made to work?

Thanks for any pointers to additional reading. Geo. Salisbury Long Valley, NJ

Reply to
GSalisbury
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The only requirement to open and contribute to a Roth IRA is that your joint return MAGI is below the threshold ($193K) and your combined earned income can cover the contribution(s). Assuming that your combined earned income was at least $13000 and your MAGI was low enough and the working spouse was at least age 50, each of you could contribute the maximum amount ($6500) to your own Roth IRAs.

You can read about this in IRS Pub 590A pages 40 & 41 and 9.

Reply to
Alan

======================================Thanks for the pointer and the confirmation of my understanding. I don't recall now if the IRS Pub popped-up in my searches. It is consistent with and supports the readings I did find. Now all I have to do is get the FI to agree. Thx. Geo.

Reply to
GSalisbury

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