washingtonscene
as not justifying the award of the Purple
Heart. Over many decades, the precedent GI Bill
has been that the decoration is awarded
for physical wounds but not psychological Transferability
ones such as combat fatigue, shell-shock,
and other stress disorders that have been Rules
diagnosed in many previous combat eras.
Retirement-eligibles will
Another important consideration, of-
fi cials said, is that current medical capaci-
get a break.
ties can’t establish the degree of PTSD
as objectively and routinely as would be
M
OAA has learned that some
required for such an award. people nearing retirement from
active duty service who are eli-
Some IRA
gible for the new Post-9/11 GI Bill will be
able to transfer their benefi ts to a spouse
Relief Coming
or dependent children.
Congress gave DoD broad authority to
Law waives 2009 distribution.
set the rules for transferring the benefi ts
as a tool to induce retention or reenlist-
ment in the armed forces including the
A
s part of the economic recov- National Guard and Reserves. The Post-
ery effort, Congress passed H.R. 9/11 GI Bill program begins Aug. 1, 2009.
Sen. Olympia
7327 — the Worker, Retiree, and The transfer program will work as fol-
Snowe
Employer Recovery Act of 2008 — which lows, assuming an individual has quali-
(R-Maine)
President George W. Bush signed into law fying post-Sept. 11, 2001, service in the
before leaving offi ce. armed forces — active duty or service in
This legislation provides a temporary the Selected Reserve.
waiver of some required distributions To be eligible to transfer benefi ts to a
from IRAs and 401(k) plans. spouse or child, a member must have:
This means that people age 70½ or a73 served at least six years in the armed forc-
older won’t be forced to take a distribution es on the date of election and agree to serve
from their IRAs and employer retirement four additional years from that date; or
plans next year if they would prefer not to. a73 served at least 10 years in the armed forces
Most retirement accounts have taken on the date of election and be precluded
a beating during the recent stock market from committing to four additional years
decline, and being forced to take money by law or service/DoD policy. For example,
out at the market bottom isn’t fair for servicemembers subject to high-year tenure
many people who would like to wait and rules and who have 10 years’ service at the
see if the market rebounds before having time of election would be eligible.
to take distributions. Members who currently are retirement-
Unfortunately, the new law only autho- eligible or who will become retirement-
rizes the waiver for 2009. There’s no ret- eligible between Aug. 1, 2009, and Aug. 1,
roactive provision to restore distributions 2012, also can qualify. Retirement-eligible
to retirees for 2008. means completion of 20 years of active
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has federal service or completion of 20 years’
introduced a new bill, S. 157, that would reserve service.
expand the temporary waiver to include Here’s how the program will work for
both tax years 2008 and 2010. various cohorts of retirement-eligibles:
M A R C H 2 0 0 9 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 3 5
MMar_scene.indd
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