The SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted in 2022, significantly enhances the original Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act. To improve retirement savings opportunities across the United States, it introduces over 90 provisions designed to expand access, improve flexibility, and encourage participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans. In light of this legislation, the IRS has released new guidance (Notice 2024-2) that targets critical facets of the legislation. This guidance is crucial for plan sponsors, ensuring they can both comply with the new regulations and optimize their re ..read more

The SECURE Act 2.0 passed into law in December 2022 calls for several updates to plan operations. Due to the comprehensive nature of the legislation, many updates are set to phase in over five years. Provisions effective in 2024 include introducing Starter 401k plans, student loan matching payments, deferral failure corrections, and introducing a new emergency savings account (PLESA). These accounts are limited to $2,500 in annual contributions and the first four withdrawals are tax-free. While regulations guiding all new provisions have yet to be issued, the IRS recently released Notice 2024 ..read more

Many workers think of retirement as a time of transition from the daily grind to more relaxing activities such as spending time with family, pursuing outside interests, and travel. It is viewed as an oasis from the daily pressures and demands associated with a fruitful career. Yet for many Americans this idea of retirement continues to slip away. The unfortunate reality is most will simply not have enough money to stop working, and if they do, such a lifestyle will simply not be possible. This uncomfortable reality is evident in a recent study conducted by the Federal Reserve which found that ..read more

The SECURE Act 2.0 called for several changes to be made to retirement plans to facilitate broader access and additional retirement saving opportunities. These include the introduction of new distribution types for personal emergencies and victims of domestic abuse, changes to how catch-up contribution amounts are calculated, and changes to Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) requirements. Although there is a 5-year phase in period, the RMD changes went into effect at the start of 2023.This triggered the need for guidance on how regulators will handle non-compliance. The IRS recently issued No ..read more

The SECURE Act 2.0 which was passed in December of 2022 calls for several changes to retirement saving and plan administration rules. Many of the changes are designed to expand access and encourage broader participation in employer sponsored retirement plans. Included as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, the legislation builds on many of the reforms made in the SECURE Act of 2019. Since the legislation is comprehensive not all the changes became effective when passed instead relying on a gradual phase-in over a several year period. Starting in 2024 several provisions will be ..read more

In late 2022, President Biden signed the SECURE Act 2.0 into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The legislation included comprehensive changes designed to improve access to retirement saving accounts and make it easier to grow individual retirement savings. While many of the updates targeted workers, there were also some designed to make starting and administering an employer sponsored retirement plan easier and less costly. One important provision was contained in Section 305, which calls for an expansion of the Self Correction Program (SCP) under the IRS Employee Pla ..read more

Over the last few years there have been several changes to rules governing employer sponsored retirement plans. The SECURE Act of 2019 outlined several changes to plan operations including participant access and eligibility to plan administration. Since that time, the Department of Labor (DOL) and IRS have periodically updated IRS Form 5500 and issued new rules to comply with these changes. The most recent came in May 2022 which generally addressed updates related to defined benefit plans. In late February an additional round of changes were announced effective for plan years starting on, or a ..read more

Employer-sponsored retirement plans are an essential benefit offering and tool for employees to fund retirement savings. The savings crisis has been in full focus over the last few months due to the SECURE Act 2.0. This legislation calls for several changes impacting plan administration, participant benefits, and even tax incentives for new plans. The gradual phase-in of required changes and updates has naturally been top of mind for many. This is especially true because of the time needed to update plan processes and procedures. However, a recently issued report on DOL enforcement actions ini ..read more

The SECURE Act 2.0 was signed into law at the end of last year and makes several important changes to help alleviate the retirement savings crisis. Built on the change made in the SECURE Act of 2019, the latest version offers many benefits to both employees and employers. To facilitate additional savings, several new provisions have been added to expand eligibility, extend RMD requirements, and require auto-enrollment and escalation for eligible employees. To entice employers to offer plans, the legislation provides several new tax incentives for plan startups, eliminates notice requirements f ..read more

There has been much discussion in Congress over the last few years on how to update and reform retirement saving rules. The unfortunate reality is that many Americans will not have enough to retire. It is a serious issue when one considers that the average working household has virtually no retirement savings. Several studies have illustrated the depth of the problem and just how many will be forced to work beyond the traditional retirement age. The lack of access to workplace retirement plans and limited savings have intensified the issue. In late December 2022, President Biden signed the Con ..read more