What are they going to do to all the people who liquidate their 401(k)s in anticipation of this law? I would not doubt that the law will reach back 6 months or so and demand you give them the money you took out.
My head has offically exploded.
I posted this before under a different topic, but I think a precedent, of sorts, has been set. (From the California Mining Journal article of the '70s.) Just before Roosevelt banned private holdings of gold, two brothers sensed something was in the wind and converted their gold certificates into the hard stuff to the tune of $20,000. Six months after the edict went through, the Feds tracked down said brothers and forced them to turn in their gold for paper money.
The brothers sued, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruld in favor of the Feds, saying they got their $20,000 back in trade for the $20,000 face on the coins, conveniently forgetting that gold had been revalued from $20 and change to $35.00.
So, I fully expect the Court to say that you weren't screwed when you got a govt annuity that was "equal" in value to your 401K - after you have been tracked down for your "early out" option.