Transferring an inherited IRA to Vanguard
Make the most of your inherited IRA by taking advantage of investment flexibility and low costs at Vanguard.
Follow these steps to begin
1. Work with the other investment firm
Before you transfer an IRA you've inherited to Vanguard, you may need to work with the other firm to ensure that the inherited IRA assets are properly registered to include your name and Social Security number.
This is an important step because an IRA that's registered only to the person who passed away can't be moved to another firm.
2. Start your transfer at Vanguard
Once you've confirmed that the inherited IRA assets are properly registered at the other firm, you can begin the transfer here on our website.
Completing the online form will take about 5 to 10 minutes. It will help to have a recent IRA statement handy.
3. We'll take it from there
Once the transfer request has been submitted, we'll review and contact your firm. The other firm will review the request, and if approved, eligible assets will be transferred in kind.
The transfer could be as quick as 5 to 7 days or may take a few weeks if the other firm requests paperwork.
We'll send you status updates along the way.
Once your inherited IRA arrives
Keep in mind that inherited IRAs have unique IRS rules, which means you can't contribute more money to them but will likely need to take required minimum distributions (RMDs). Our RMD Service can help you keep your withdrawals on track.
ARE THERE ANY TRANSFER FEES?
Vanguard doesn't charge any transfer fees, but you may want to check with the other firm to see if it charges transfer or account closing fees.
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What's an "in kind" transfer?
When you transfer "in kind," you simply move your investments to us "as is." There's no selling or buying involved and no tax consequences as a result. Vanguard receives your investments at the market value on the date of the transfer. An in-kind transfer is one of the quickest and easiest ways to move an account.