The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019. There are numerous changes that affect qualified retirement plans.
A brief summary of the new rules can be found at:
https://www.asppa.org/news/browse-topics/secure-act-signed-law
Most of the changes are very positive for plan sponsors and participants, including:
Larger tax credits for new plans,
Simplified rules for safe harbor plans,
An increase in the Required Beginning Date for certain distributions from age 70½ to 72, and
Additional time to adopt a new plan.
Some of the changes were designed as “revenue raisers” to offset the cost of the liberalization of other provisions. These are not so positive. They include the end of the “stretch IRA” and sharply increased penalties for late filing of certain pension-related forms. A summary of the increase in filing penalties can be found at:
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or are curious about how these changes may affect your plan.