This morning the US House of Representatives approved the SECURE Act, which will have wide-ranging implications for retirement plans if eventually passed by the US Senate.  Among other things, the “SECURE” Act – which stands for “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” Act – eliminates the general rule that allows a designated beneficiary of a retirement account to withdraw the balance over his or her life expectancy after the death of the participant/owner, instead requiring that the entire balance be paid out – and typically subject to income tax – within ten years.  There are some exceptions when the beneficiary is the surviving spouse, a disabled individual, an individual with a chronic illness (as defined by statute), and individuals who are no more than ten years younger than the participant/owner.  The Act also increases the age when required minimum distributions must be started by the participant/owner (from 70 ½ to 72) and eliminates the age limit for contributions to individual retirement accounts.  We will watch the progress of the Act through the Senate, so check back for future developments.