Last week, Congress passed the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (the "Act"), which, when signed by the President (it has not been signed as of the time of this writing), will help reduce part of the financial burden facing seniors who have seen their retirement savings shrink dramatically over the past several months. The Act includes a provision that would allow individuals who have reached age 70-1/2 to avoid "locking in" investment losses by withdrawing funds that they are required by law to withdraw.

As most people know, the tax law generally requires an individual to receive "required minimum distributions" (RMDs) from retirement plans and IRAs every year once he or she reaches age 70-1/2.

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