The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 provides a temporary waiver of 2009 Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) for Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA owners and for beneficiaries of deceased IRA owners. Due to this waiver, if you were required to take an RMD for 2009 because during the year you are turning 70½ or are already older than 70½, you are now no longer required to do so. However, you may still choose to take the distribution if you wish. If you have scheduled your RMD through a systematic withdrawal plan and would like to stop the plan or if you have already taken a 2009 RMD, please contact us at 1-800-OAKMARK (1-800-625-6275), option 2. As always, please consult your accountant or tax advisor for detailed information applicable to your unique situation.
Additional Information regarding the temporary waiver of 2009 Required Minimum Distributions (RMD):
Individuals who are turning 70½ in 2009 are not required to take an RMD until December 31, 2010.
The waiver of the RMD rules affects only distributions that are required to be distributed for 2009. The RMD rules are back in place for 2010.
The 2009 RMD amount is not delayed until 2010, meaning you will not have to take both the 2009 and the 2010 RMD amounts in 2010.
No distributions in 2009 (other than a 2008 RMD distributed by April 1) will be treated as an RMD. Therefore, any amount already distributed for the purpose of fulfilling the 2009 RMD may be eligible for rollover. Those individuals who already took their 2009 RMD this year can roll over that amount tax-free until the later of November 30, 2009 or 60 days after the date the distribution was received. However, the one-rollover-per-year rule has not been waived.
All systematic withdrawal plans will continue unchanged in 2009 until the shareholder contacts Oakmark with instructions to the contrary. If a shareholder wishes to suspend their RMD only for 2009, Oakmark will defer their payments in 2009 and will set their schedules to resume automatically in 2010. Oakmark will not require further instructions from the shareholder to resume the RMD in 2010.
Beneficiaries of deceased IRA owners are not required to take a 2009 death RMD. If a beneficiary is taking the funds using the five-year rule, they can waive the distribution for 2009, effectively taking distributions over a six-year period rather than a five-year period.
