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Compliance December 10, 2008
Two RMD Delay Bills Filed
Two Republican U.S. Senators have introduced proposals to delay enforcement of retirement plan required minimum distribution (RMD) rules because of the struggling economy.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
The bill by Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) would put off RMD rule enforcement until 2010 and permit investors to “recontribute” to their accounts the amount they were required to take out of their plans in 2008, according to a news release.
“Retirees are counting on the money they’ve saved during a lifetime in these retirement accounts only to see much of it evaporate this year,” said Snowe, in the release. “We must give individuals time to recover their losses and not require them to prematurely withdraw their hard-earned savings.”
Snowe introduced The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, before the Congress adjourned for its Thanksgiving break, and again, in her latest statement, called on lawmakers to pass that measure authorizing a one-year RMD rule waiver (see “U.S. Senate Legislation Would Help Retirement Plans’).
Meanwhile, a separate measure introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) would delay the distributions for 2008 and 2009. Specter also cited “the economic situation” and “unstable financial markets” as reasons to delay the required distributions.