Many rules for retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans, IRAs and Roth IRAs That will change soon after the Senate and House both approved $1.7 trillion last week federal spending bill includes new regulations. SECURE 2.0 Law of 2022.
These new laws for retirement follow the original SECURE (Adjusting Every Community to Enhance Retirement) Act of 2019, which promoted retirement plans for employers and gave investors more options to save for retirement.
The spending bill now goes to President Joe Biden to sign it into law. It was previously supposed to be signed by midnight on Friday, December 1. 23 to avoid partial shutdown of the federal governmentbut House and Senate passed resolutions extends the deadline until Friday, December 1st. 30.
For most Americans with retirement accounts, the biggest change will be the increased age for required minimum distributions and increased “upgrade” limits for those over 60, but there are more than 90 different retirement changes on the spending bill that includes both parties.
Some retirement account changes will come into effect soon after the bill is passed, while others will begin in 2024 or later. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the new rules for retirement accounts.
New retirement rule could help Americans with student loan debt
One of the most revolutionary changes in the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act will be the option for employer plans to credit student loan payments with donations that match 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, or SIMPLE IRAs. Government employers may also contribute equivalent amounts to 457(b) plans.
This proposed new rule means that people with significant student loan debt can save for retirement simply by making student loan payments without making any direct contributions to a retirement account. The rule will apply to retirement plans from 2025.
What are the new deprecation rules for required minimum distributions (RMDs)?
Currently, Americans must begin receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their 401(k) and IRA accounts starting at age 72 (or 70 and a half if you reached that age before January 1, 2020). If passed, the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act will raise the age of RMDs to 73 from Jan. From January 1, 2023, and then from January 75 to 75. 1, 2033. (Roth IRAs are not subject to RMDs.)
The new retirement rules will also reduce the penalty for not receiving RMDs. The previously very high 50% excise duty penalty will be reduced to 25% and will be reduced to 10% if the error is corrected “on time”. Penalty reductions will take effect immediately after the law is passed.
How do retirement account contribution limits change?
While the standard limits for contributions to 401(k) plans and IRAs remain unchanged, the bill will increase the “bred-up” limit for Americans over 50 and introduce additional potential “cultivation” contributions for those over 60.
IRS law currently allows people age 50 and older to contribute an additional $1,000 each year to their retirement accounts above the standard limit. Beginning in 2024, instead of $1,000 more, older Americans will be able to contribute an additional inflation-indexed amount.
People aged 60, 61, 62 or 63 will soon be able to give even more compensation money if the bill passes. In 2025, these seniors will be allowed to contribute up to $10,000 per year, or 50% more than the standard compensation contribution for 50 years and older, whichever is greater. These increased contribution limits will be indexed to inflation starting from 2025.
How will the new retirement account rules affect taxes?
If the comprehensive spending bill passes Congress and becomes law, the law will be repealed and replace the IRA tax credit, also known as the “”.Savings LoanThose who qualify for the Savings Credit will receive a federal contribution equivalent to a retirement account, rather than a non-refundable tax credit. This change in tax law will begin with the 2027 tax year.
In the proposed legislation, Congress also amends IRS laws for retirement account rollovers from 529 plans that are tax-advantaged savings accounts for higher education. Currently, any money withdrawn from a 529 plan not used for education is subject to a 10% federal penalty.
Under the bill, beneficiaries of 529 college savings accounts will be allowed to roll over up to a total of $35,000 from their 529 plan into a Roth IRA over their lifetime. A Roth IRA will still be subject to annual contribution limits and account 529 must have been open for at least 15 years.
How will early withdrawals from retirement accounts be affected by the new law?
The 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act includes several rule changes that will benefit Americans who need to withdraw money from their retirement accounts early. Normally, withdrawals from retirement accounts before the account holder reaches the age of 59 and a half are subject to a 10% penalty tax.
First, Congress plans to add a basic exception for emergencies. Account holders under the age of 59.5 can withdraw up to $1,000 per year for emergencies and have three years to repay the distribution if they wish. No more immediate withdrawals can be made during this three-year period unless the refund has occurred.
The bill also states that employees will be allowed to self-document their emergencies, meaning no documents other than personal testimony are required. The bill would also completely abolish the penalty for people with terminal illness.
Americans affected by natural disasters will also get some relief with the proposed changes. The proposed new rules would allow up to $22,000 to be distributed from employer plans or IRAs in the event of a federally declared disaster. Withdrawals will not be penalized and will be treated as gross income for three years. If the bill passes, the rule will apply to all Americans affected by natural disasters after January 1. 26, 2021.
The new retirement rule changes will also allow account holders to withdraw early from their 403(b) plans, similar to their 401(k) plans. Currently, hard money withdrawn from 403(b) accounts, unlike 401(k)s, includes only employee contributions, not earnings. Starting in 2025, the difficulty rules will be the same for 403(b) and 401(k) plans.
What would be the retirement account changes for employers?
The retirement account rule changes proposed in the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act will affect employers just as much as employees. The biggest change for companies will be that any new 401(k) or 403(b) plan starting in 2025 will need to automatically enroll employees who don’t give up.
Contributions of automatically registered workers start from a minimum of 3% and a maximum of 10%. Each year after 2025, these amounts will increase by 1% until they reach the 10% to 15% range. Pension plans created before 2025 will not be subject to the same terms.
The changes to the pension rule will also give employers the opportunity to offer their employees “retirement-linked emergency savings accounts” that will act as a hybrid between emergency and retirement savings. Employers can automatically enroll workers for up to 3% of their salary with a contribution cap of $2,500.
Contributions to these emergency accounts will be taxed like Roth contributions and will be eligible for employer matching. Employees could withdraw money from the account four times a year without paying any penalties or additional taxes. If they leave the company, they can cash out the emergency account or transfer it to a Roth account.
Other changes for employers will allow companies to automatically roll over the participant’s IRA to a retirement plan at a new employer unless the participant has explicitly opted out. The SECURE 2.0 Act also gives pension plan administrators the option to decide not to compensate for overpayments inadvertently made to retirees, and imposes protections and limitations on retirees if companies decide to recover the money.
What systemic changes will Congress make to retirement plans?
If passed as part of the larger spending package, the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act will introduce several broad changes to retirement in America in general. One of the largest would be the Department of Labor’s mandate to create a national, searchable database of retirement plans to help people find lost or misplaced accounts. The agency will need to launch the database within two years of the bill’s adoption.
This Employee Retirement Income Security Act 1974 (ERISA) would also receive an update. ERISA sets minimum standards for managers of private pension plans, including communication with participants.
The proposed ERISA rule change would require private pension plans to issue at least one paper statement per year to participants unless the participant chooses it. However, the rule will not take effect until 2026 and will not affect any other quarterly statement required by ERISA.
For more information on retirement, Get answers to all your Social Security questionsincluding whether you can get help while still working.
