Congress passed the following bill and it was signed into law by President Bush on 12/13/08: The "Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008"
No Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) would be required for calendar year 2009. In other words, RMDs which are based on 12/31/2008 plan balances and are normally required to be made by 12/31/2009 (or by 4/1/2010 for those attaining age 70½ in 2009) would not have to be made.