In December of 2019, President Donald Trump passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act or SECURE Act. Some of the Act aims as making it easier for small business owners to create more affordable and easier to administer retirement plans. Key takeaways from the SECURE Act include:
- Small Business Tax Credits have increased for businesses who start a 401(k) Plan, thus making starting a plan more affordable.
- New automatic enrollment plan tax credit created.
- Removes the annual notice requirement for Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans that utilize the nonelective contribution instead of the match.
- 401(k) Nonelective Safe Harbor Plans can be adopted up until 30 days before plan year end, instead of 90 days prior.
- Maximum automatic contribution rate is increased to 15% from 10% in Qualified Automatic Contribution Arrangements (QACAs).
- Pushes the age of 70 ½ to 72 for retirement plan participants needing to take RMDs or ‘required minimum distributions.
- Part-time employees will be eligible to participate after completing 500 hours of service in each of 3 consecutive 12-month periods, if at least age 21 at the end of that time. These employees do not have to share in company contributions.
- Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) will be allowed which could make it easier for small businesses to administer their retirement plan.
“There is a lot of hype in the government and media about how the SECURE Act will make it cheaper to sponsor a plan. I don’t know if recordkeepers could lower their annual costs any more than they have over the last 8 or 9 years; but it definitely will provide lower start-up costs through the tax credits, and make it easier to administer plans if utilizing a Safe Harbor approach or a PEP,” stated Todd Yawit, Director / Retirement Plans at Saxon Financial Services, Inc.
For most plans and provisions, the SECURE Act became effective on January 1, 2020. However, for Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs), the SECURE Act will go into effect on January 1, 2021. For further information on how the SECURE Act will affect your retirement plans, contact Todd Yawit at (513) 573-0129 or tyawit@gosaxon.com.