Secure 2.0 Act

David Tebor, CFP®, AIF® | Mar 30, 2023

1. The first change we’ll look at deals with required minimum distributions (RMDs)

The age at which owners of retirement accounts must start taking RMDs will increase to 73, starting January 1, 2023. The current age to begin taking RMDs is 72, so individuals will have an additional year to delay taking a mandatory withdrawal of deferred savings from their retirement accounts.
- Two important things to think about: If you turned 72 in 2022 or earlier, you will need to continue taking RMDs as scheduled. If you're turning 72 in 2023 and have already scheduled your withdrawal, you may want to consider updating your withdrawal plan. Good to know: SECURE 2.0 also pushes the age at which RMDs must start to 75 starting in 2033.
Starting in 2023, the penalty for failing to take an RMD will decrease to 25% of the RMD amount not taken, from 50% currently. The penalty will be reduced to 10% for IRA owners if the account owner withdraws the RMD amount previously not taken and submits a corrected tax return in a timely manner.
Roth accounts in employer retirement plans will be exempt from the RMD requirements starting in 2024.
Beginning immediately, for in-plan annuity payments that exceed the participant's RMD amount, the excess annuity payment can be applied to the year's RMD.
Turning 72 in 2023? Consider when to take you first RMD: Either by December 31, 2024, or delay until no later than April 1, 2025. Remember, if you delay your first RMD to April 1, 2025, you will need to take 2 RMDs in 1 tax year: Your first by April 1, 2025, which satisfies your required withdrawal for 2024, and your second by December 33, 2025, which satisfies your required withdrawal for 2025.

2. Higher catch-up contributions

Starting January 1, 2025, individuals’ ages 60 through 63 years old will be able to make catch-up contributions up to $10,000 annually to a workplace plan, and that amount will be indexed to inflation. (The catch-up amount for people age 50 and older in 2023 is currently $7,500.)
One caveat: If you earn more than $145,000 in the prior calendar year, all catch-up contributions at age 50 or older will need to be made to a Roth account in after-tax dollars. Individuals earning $145,000 or less, adjusted for inflation going forward, will be exempt from the Roth requirement.
IRAs currently have a $1,000 catch-up contribution limit for people age 50 and over. Starting in 2024, that limit will be indexed to inflation, meaning it could increase every year, based on federally determined cost-of-living increases.

3. Matching for Roth accounts

Employers will be able to provide employees the option of receiving vested matching contributions to Roth accounts (although it may take time for plan providers to offer this and for payroll systems to be updated). Previously, matching in employer-sponsored plans were made on a pre-tax basis. Contributions to a Roth retirement plan are made after-tax, after which earnings can grow tax-free.
Important to know: Unlike Roth IRAs, RMDs from an employer-sponsored plan are required for Roth accounts until tax year 2024.

4. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

Beginning in 2023, people who are age 70½ and older may elect as part of their QCD limit a one-time gift up to $50,000, adjusted annually for inflation, to a charitable remainder unitrust, a charitable remainder annuity trust, or a charitable gift annuity. This is an expansion of the type of charity, or charities that can receive a QCD. This amount counts toward the annual RMD, if applicable.
Note, for gifts to count, they must come directly from your IRA by the end of the calendar year. QCDs cannot be made to all charities.

5. Other changes for annuities

Qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs) are getting a boost. QLACs are deferred income annuities purchased with retirement funds typically held in an IRA or 401(k) that begin payments on or before age 85. The dollar limitation for premiums increases to $200,000 from $145,000 starting January 1, 2023. The law also eliminates a previous requirement that limited premiums to 25% of an individual’s retirement account balance.

In our next blog, we will look at the effects of Secure 2.0 on individuals that are years away from retirement. Stay tuned!

Source: https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/secure-act-2

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