Congress has passed and the President signed (on Tuesday, Dec 23rd) H.R. 7327, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, a bill that places a one year moratorium on required minimum distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts and defined contribution plans for 2009.
To Clarify my earlier post (and thanks to a sharp-eyed reader who caught my unintended error as I posted in December, before knowing details of the bill):
The suspension of required minimum distributions applies to 2009 distributions, NOT 2008. Therefore, you should have taken the 2008 required distribution before year end. If you did not, you may face a 50% penalty on the amount you "should" have withdrawn.
There may be some exceptions made because of the confusion at year end. BUT, if you did not take a 2008 RMD, you should immediately contact your plan custodian and arrange to do so!
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December 2008 Archives
Monday, December 15th -- Should we use taxpayer money to bail out the automakers?
If you subscribe to my free newsletter (www.TerrySavage.com -- just fill in the little "pop-up" box) you'll know that I have mixed feelings on that issue.
One thing is sure: Like a parent coddling a spendthrift young adult, you can't keep throwing good money after bad, jeopardizing your own retirement plans, without demanding some CHANGE! What do YOU think?
Terry Savage
Terry Savage writes a syndicated personal finance column for the Chicago Sun-Times and for TheStreet.com. Her latest book is "The Savage Number: How Much Money Do You Need to Retire?" Read more at TerrySavage.com.
