Bill would let seniors take retirement funds through annuity

Retirees would be able to take a portion of their retirement savings in the form of an annuity if a bill introduced today by Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., were passed into law. H.R. 2748, the Retirement Security Needs Lifetime Pay Act, would adjust the Internal Revenue Code and allow a 50% tax exclusion from a non-qualified lifetime annuity for up to $10,000 a year. Twenty-five percent of income payments from individual retirement accounts and qualified retirement plans — other than defined benefit plans — also would be tax-exempt. Additionally, the bill would exclude the value of longevity insurance from amounts subject to required minimum distributions and would clarify the tax effect on payments from partially annuitized deferred annuities. Mr. Pomeroy announced the bill’s introduction this morning at NAVA’s Government and Regulatory Affairs Conference in Washington. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. NAVA, the variable annuity trade association, is based in Reston, Va.