A surviving spouse is approaching the end of the 5 year period during which she must make a distribution election. If she does not make an election by the deadline, would the automatic rollover rules apply to her?

From Notice 2005-5:

Q-1. To what distributions do the automatic rollover requirements of § 401(a)(31)(B) apply?

A-1. The automatic rollover requirements apply to any mandatory distribution that is more than $1,000 and is an eligible rollover distribution that is subject to the direct rollover requirements that are in § 401(a)(31).


Q-2. What is a mandatory distribution?

A-2. A mandatory distribution is a distribution that is made without the participant’s consent and that is made to a participant before the participant attains the later of age 62 or normal retirement age. A distribution to a surviving spouse or alternate payee is not a mandatory distribution for purposes of the automatic rollover requirements of § 401(a)(31)(B).