As part of the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (HR 2146) a provision was added liberalizing the ability of certain federal employees to obtain penalty free distributions from governmental plans that are made after the employee reaches age 50.

The law amended IRC §72(t)(10)(B) to allow for penalty free withdrawals from governmental plans (as defined by IRC §414(d)) for any Federal law enforcement officer described in section 8331(20) or 8401(17) of title 5, United States Code, any Federal customs and border protection officer described in section 8331(31) or 8401(36) of such title, any Federal firefighter described in section 8331(21) or 8401(14) of such title, or any air traffic controller described in 8331(30) or 8401(35) of such title.

While the bill was signed into law on June 29, 2015, this provision of the law takes effect only for distributions made after December 31, 2015—thus it will not apply to any distributions made during 2015.