Updated July 28, 2026. Quick answer: Both are eligible designated beneficiaries and can generally stretch distributions over life expectancy rather than emptying in ten years. The definitions are statutory rather than colloquial, and both require documentation.
Why this category matters more than the others
For a beneficiary whose income is limited and whose expenses are long-term, the difference between a life-expectancy stretch and a ten-year emptying is the difference between a durable income stream and a decade of compressed, higher-taxed distributions.
The definitions are not the everyday ones
Disability and chronic illness have specific statutory meanings here, and a beneficiary who would describe themselves either way in ordinary conversation may or may not meet them. Certification is required, and it is far easier to obtain near the time than to reconstruct.
Where a special-needs trust is in place, the interaction between trust drafting and beneficiary status is genuinely technical, and getting it wrong can jeopardise means-tested benefits as well as the stretch. This is not a do-it-yourself designation.
Sources
Final regulations on required minimum distributions, published 19 July 2024; SECURE Act (2019) and SECURE 2.0 (2022); IRC §401(a)(9). Cross-checked July 2026 against professional analyses from Kitces, Grant Thornton, Ascensus, Charles Schwab and Kiplinger. Specific IRS notice numbers for the 2021–2024 waivers, and the exact correction window for reducing the missed-RMD excise tax, should be confirmed against primary source before you rely on them.
This states what the cited authority says. It is not tax advice, and inherited account rules turn on facts about the decedent that no page can verify for you.