The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 brought sweeping changes to the retirement plan landscape. Many of those provisions are now operationally effective, and plan sponsors face a fast-approaching deadline to formalize the required written amendments. For advisors helping clients maintain compliant retirement plans, understanding what must happen, and when, is essential.

The December 31, 2026 Amendment Deadline

Since the passage of the SECURE Act (2019), the CARES Act (2020), and the SECURE 2.0 Act (2022), most qualified retirement plans have been operating under a “good faith compliance” standard, meaning plan sponsors have implemented required changes operationally without yet formalizing them in written plan documents. However, that runway is ending.

Under IRS Notice 2024-02, the deadline for most private-sector qualified retirement plans (including 401(k), profit sharing, money purchase, defined benefit (“DB”) plans, and nongovernmental 403(b) plans) to adopt written amendments reflecting these legislative changes is December 31, 2026. This generally applies to required and discretionary changes made under these three laws. Put simply, if a plan has been operating in compliance with the new rules but has not yet amended its plan document to reflect those rules, the amendment generally must be adopted by year-end 2026.

Certain types of plans have later amendment deadlines, including governmental and collectively bargained plans, as well as IRAs, SEP arrangements, and SIMPLE IRA plans. Moving forward, advisors should encourage plan sponsor clients to coordinate with their TPA, document provider, and ERISA counsel to ensure their plans stay up to date. Early engagement reduces the risk of missing the deadline.

SECURE 2.0 Provisions Now Effective

Several major SECURE 2.0 provisions have become operationally effective and must be reflected in current plan operations. Some notable examples include:

Required Minimum Distribution (“RMD”) Age. Effective January 1, 2020, the SECURE Act increased the applicable age used in determining when RMDs must begin from 70½ to 72 for individuals who reached age 70½ after December 31, 2019. SECURE 2.0 increased the applicable age again, generally to 73 for individuals born in 1951 through 1958 and to 75 for individuals born in 1960 or later.  Proposed regulations would also apply age 73 to individuals born in 1959.  It is important to note that the December 31, 2026, amendment deadline for most qualified retirement plans and nongovernmental 403(b) plans still applies to these changes.

Mandatory Roth catch-up contributions. Beginning in 2026, participants in 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans that allow catch-up contributions may be subject to mandatory Roth treatment of catch-up contributions.  A participant whose prior-year FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceed an applicable threshold must make any catch-up contributions on a Roth basis.  The statutory threshold is $145,000, as indexed, and the threshold for determining 2026 treatment is $150,000 in 2025 FICA wages. Plans that do not offer a Roth contribution feature must either add one or eliminate catch-up contributions for affected participants.

Long-term, part-time employee eligibility. Effective after December 31, 2024, SECURE 2.0 reduced the long-term, part-time eligibility requirement for 401(k) plans from three consecutive years of 500+ hours of service to two consecutive years and extended similar eligibility rules to ERISA-covered 403(b) plans.

Mandatory automatic enrollment. For plan years beginning after December 31, 2024, new 401(k) and 403(b) plans established after December 29, 2022, generally must include an eligible automatic contribution arrangement (“EACA”) with an initial default deferral rate of at least 3% (but not more than 10%). If set at less than 10%, the deferral rate must escalate by 1% annually until it reaches 10%. The automatic deferral has a 15% maximum. Exemptions apply to certain small employers and plan types.

Some provisions of SECURE 2.0 provide optional changes, which may still warrant additional discussion with plan sponsor clients. Some of the optional changes made by SECURE 2.0 are below:

Enhanced “super catch-up” for ages 60–63. Effective in 2025, participants who attain ages 60 through 63 during the taxable year and participate in 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plans may make catch-up contributions up to a higher limit.  The higher limit is $11,250 for 2025 and 2026. The regular age 50 catch-up limit is $7,500 for 2025 and $8,000 for 2026.

Student loan matching. Effective in 2024, plans may treat qualifying student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of receiving employer matching contributions, allowing participants who cannot afford both loan payments and retirement contributions to earn a match.

Pension-linked emergency savings accounts (“PLESAs”). Effective in 2024, plans may offer short-term emergency savings accounts for non-highly compensated employees, funded with after-tax Roth contributions up to a $2,600 cap for 2026. Withdrawals from PLESAs are tax- and penalty-free.

Elimination of RMDs from designated Roth accounts in employer plans. Effective in 2024, designated Roth accounts in 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans are no longer subject to required minimum distributions during the participant’s lifetime. This aligns Roth employer plan accounts with Roth IRAs.

Upcoming deadlines:

October 1. Adoption deadline for a new safe harbor 401(k) plan for the current plan year for a calendar-year employer with no existing plan or a profit-sharing-only plan.

October 15. Extended deadline for filing 2025 Form 5500 for calendar-year plans that received an extension.