If a participant dies on or after the required beginning date, and if the participant has a designated beneficiary other than a spouse, the applicable distribution period for distribution years after the year of the participant's death is the remaining life expectancy of the participant's designated beneficiary. The remaining life expectancy is determined using the beneficiary's age as of the beneficiary's birthday in the year following the year of the participant's death. In subsequent calendar years, the applicable distribution period is reduced by one for each year that has elapsed since the year immediately following the year of the participant's death.

The participant's designated beneficiary is determined based on the beneficiaries designated as of December 31 of the year following the year of the participant's death. Consequently, a person who was a beneficiary as of the date of death, but who is not a beneficiary as of this later date, i.e., because the person disclaims the interest or because the person receives the entire benefit to which they are entitled, is not taken into account in determining the participant's designated beneficiary. If the participant does not have a designated beneficiary as of December 31 of the year following the participant's death, the applicable distribution period is based on the life expectancy of the participant, using the age of the participant as of the participant's birthday in the year of death. The divisor must be reduced by one for each year subsequent to the year of death.

Because the designated beneficiary is not determined under December 31 of the year following the participant's death, it is possible for the beneficiary of the account on the date of the participant's death to die and for that beneficiary's estate to become entitled to the benefits on the determination date.

If the participant's spouse is the sole beneficiary, the applicable period is based on the spouse's life expectancy, redetermined each year based on the spouse's attained age in the year. Only after the spouse dies is a fixed life expectancy determined using the spouse's age in the year of the spouse's death; one is subtracted for each subsequent year.