The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 was signed December 29, 2022 and contained over 90 changes to retirement law. Most are narrow. A few actually move the numbers that matter for retirement planning.
The provisions took effect in stages: some in 2023, more in 2024, the most significant ones in 2025, and one major change still coming in 2026. Here's what's in effect now and what it means for your retirement math.
RMD age is now 73, not 72
If you were born between 1951 and 1959, your required minimum distributions from IRAs, 401(k)s, and most other tax-deferred accounts must begin by April 1 of the year after you turn 73. The previous threshold was 72.
If you were born in 1960 or later, the age moves to 75, but not until 2033. That's a long runway to plan around it.
If you were already taking RMDs before 2023, nothing changed. The new age only applies if you hadn't yet hit the required start date.
An extra year of deferral matters more than it sounds. At a $500,000 IRA balance growing 6% annually, one additional year of compounding before the forced distribution is worth roughly $28,000. Two extra years: $57,000. Multiply those numbers by your actual balance.
The flip side: every year you delay an RMD is a year the balance grows inside a taxable account when you eventually do take distributions. The RMD age extension mostly benefits people who don't need the money for living expenses and can let it compound. If you need the cash flow, the change is irrelevant. You can always take more than the minimum.
Use the RMD calculator to run your specific numbers based on your account balance, age, and IRS life expectancy tables.
Super catch-up contributions for ages 60-63: starting 2025
The standard catch-up contribution for 401(k), 403(b), and TSP accounts is $7,500 per year for participants age 50 and older. SECURE 2.0 created a higher limit specifically for ages 60, 61, 62, and 63.
Starting in 2025, those participants can contribute $11,250 in catch-up contributions instead of $7,500. That's an extra $3,750 per year in the four-year window before the limit drops back to $7,500 at age 64.
Combined with the 2025 base deferral limit of $23,500, ages 60-63 can now contribute $34,750 per year to a 401(k). For SIMPLE IRA participants, the super catch-up is $5,250 instead of $3,500.
Whether this matters to you depends on whether you're already maxing out your 401(k). If you're not hitting the base limit, the catch-up expansion doesn't help. If you are maxing it out, this is an additional $3,750 per year in tax-deferred savings during what is often a peak earning period.
Roth catch-up mandate for high earners: starting 2026
This one requires planning. Starting January 1, 2026, anyone whose prior-year wages subject to FICA exceeded $145,000 must make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis. No pre-tax catch-up allowed.
In practice: if your W-2 wages were above $145,000 in 2025, your 2026 catch-up contributions can only go into a Roth 401(k). Pre-tax catch-up contributions to a traditional 401(k) won't be permitted for you.
If your plan doesn't offer a Roth 401(k) option, the law technically blocks you from making catch-up contributions altogether. The IRS issued transition guidance in 2023 and 2024 giving plans more time to add Roth options, and most large employer plans have or will add them before 2026. Small plans are the real risk.
Whether mandatory Roth treatment hurts you depends on your tax situation. Roth contributions are after-tax now and produce tax-free distributions in retirement. If you expect to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement than you are today, the mandatory Roth treatment costs you money relative to the traditional catch-up. If you expect a similar or higher bracket, it's neutral or beneficial.
The $145,000 threshold will be indexed for inflation after 2025. It refers to FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan, not total income, so self-employment income doesn't count.
High earners who are already running Roth conversion strategies through the backdoor Roth should factor this into their overall Roth balance projections.
529 to Roth IRA rollovers: starting 2024
If a 529 education account has been open for at least 15 years and the beneficiary won't use the full balance for education, SECURE 2.0 allows rolling unused assets into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary.
The limits are tight. The rollover counts as an IRA contribution, so it's subject to the annual IRA contribution limit ($7,000 in 2025). The lifetime maximum per beneficiary is $35,000. Contributions made to the 529 in the last five years are ineligible to roll over. The beneficiary must have earned income at least equal to the amount being rolled.
This is useful for families who overfunded a 529 because a child got a scholarship or chose a less expensive school. At $7,000 per year, it takes five years to move $35,000. It's not a windfall, but it's a tax-advantaged exit from what would otherwise be a stuck account.
Student loan matching: starting 2024
Employers can now treat qualified student loan payments as elective deferrals for purposes of calculating matching contributions. If an employee pays $500 per month toward student loans and the employer has a 4% match, the employer can make the matching contribution even though the employee isn't putting anything into the 401(k).
The intent is to let recent graduates with heavy loan payments still accumulate employer match while prioritizing debt repayment. This is entirely optional for employers and requires a plan amendment. Not all plans offer it. Check with your HR department.
Auto-enrollment: effective for new plans in 2025
New 401(k) and 403(b) plans established after December 29, 2022 must automatically enroll eligible employees at a contribution rate between 3% and 10% of compensation. The rate must escalate by 1% per year until it reaches at least 10%, capped at 15%.
Existing plans are exempt. Employees can opt out. Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and businesses less than 3 years old are also exempt.
If you started a job at a company that recently launched a 401(k) plan, you may be enrolled automatically without realizing it. Check your pay stub.
What SECURE 2.0 doesn't change
Defined benefit pensions are largely untouched. The law doesn't affect how pension formulas calculate benefits, survivor options, or lump sum valuations. Social Security benefit formulas are also unchanged. WEP and GPO were repealed separately by the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025.
The 10% early withdrawal penalty for accessing retirement accounts before 59.5 still applies under the same general framework. SECURE 2.0 added specific exemptions for terminal illness, domestic abuse survivors (up to $10,000 or 50% of the vested account balance), and qualified disaster distributions ($22,000), but those are narrow carve-outs, not a general loosening.
The 72(t) SEPP rules for penalty-free early distributions also remain intact. If you're planning to access a pre-59.5 IRA without penalty, the 72(t) SEPP calculator still applies and the RMD age change doesn't affect the SEPP calculation method.