SECURE Act 2.0
The SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022 is comprehensive federal legislation that expanded tax-advantaged retirement savings opportunities for American workers and retirees by increasing required minimum distribution ages, enhancing catch-up contributions, mandating automatic enrollment in workplace plans, and creating new savings mechanisms.
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act 2.0 was enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, building on the original SECURE Act of 2019. Together, these laws represent the most significant retirement policy legislation in the United States since the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
The most widely discussed change in SECURE Act 2.0 is the further increase to the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age. The original SECURE Act had raised the RMD age from 70.5 to 72. SECURE Act 2.0 raised it again to 73 effective January 1, 2023, and to 75 effective January 1, 2033. This change allows retirement account holders to leave assets in tax-deferred accounts longer before mandatory withdrawals begin, benefiting individuals who do not need the income and prefer to continue compounding tax-deferred.
Catch-up contribution limits — the additional contributions allowed for workers aged 50 and over — were enhanced substantially. Starting in 2025, workers aged 60 through 63 can make catch-up contributions to employer plans of up to $10,000 (or 150% of the regular catch-up limit, whichever is greater), indexed for inflation. However, a separate provision requires that catch-up contributions for workers earning more than $145,000 must be made to Roth (after-tax) accounts rather than traditional pre-tax accounts — a change that generates current tax revenue while allowing tax-free growth.
Automatic enrollment became mandatory for new 401(k) and 403(b) plans established after December 29, 2022. These plans must auto-enroll eligible employees at a minimum 3% contribution rate (increasing by 1% annually up to at least 10%, capped at 15%). Research consistently shows that automatic enrollment dramatically increases participation rates, particularly among younger and lower-income workers who might otherwise not elect to contribute.
SECURE Act 2.0 also created a new emergency savings account feature allowing employers to add linked Roth accounts to retirement plans, introduced a matching contribution for student loan payments (treating loan payments as if they were retirement contributions for employer match purposes), expanded Roth account options for SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and created a national lost-and-found database for retirement accounts to help workers reconnect with former employer plan balances.