The SECURE 2.0 Act went into effect on December 29, 2022, the day it was signed into law, but only a handful of its provisions started that day. The rest phase in on staggered dates running from 2023 through 2033, with each section carrying its own trigger. To know whether a given rule applies to you right now, you have to look at that specific provision’s effective date rather than the law as a whole.
What Took Effect in 2023
Several of the most widely felt changes started on January 1, 2023, just days after enactment.
The age for required minimum distributions moved from 72 to 73. The new age applies to anyone who had not already turned 72 by December 31, 2022, meaning people born in 1951 or later gained an extra year of tax-deferred growth before mandatory withdrawals began.1Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2023-23, Relief for Reporting Required Minimum Distributions for IRAs
The penalty for missing an RMD dropped from 50% of the shortfall to 25%. If you correct the mistake within the correction window, generally by the end of the second year after the missed distribution, the penalty falls again to 10%.2Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2024-35, Certain Required Minimum Distributions for 20243Thrift Savings Plan. SECURE 2.0 and the TSP
A new terminal illness exception to the 10% early withdrawal penalty took effect for distributions made after the law was signed. It applies when a physician certifies a condition reasonably expected to result in death within 84 months.
Small employers also gained a larger startup credit in 2023. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees can now claim 100% of eligible plan startup costs, up from 50%, capped at the greater of $500 or $250 per eligible non-highly-compensated employee, with a $5,000 annual ceiling for the first three plan years.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans Startup Costs Tax Credit
What Took Effect in 2024
A second wave of provisions kicked in for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023.
Employers can now treat qualified student loan payments as retirement contributions for matching purposes. If you are paying down student debt instead of contributing to your 401(k), 403(b), or SIMPLE IRA, your employer can still deposit a match into your retirement account based on those loan payments.5Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2024-63, Guidance Under Section 110 of the SECURE 2.0 Act
You can also pull up to $1,000 a year from a retirement account for an unexpected personal or family financial need without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. The withdrawal is self-certified, no documentation required, and you have three years to repay it. Until you repay or make offsetting new contributions, no additional emergency withdrawal is allowed from that plan.6Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2024-55 The $1,000 limit is not indexed for inflation.
Roth balances inside employer plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s stopped being subject to lifetime RMDs beginning with the 2024 tax year, matching how individual Roth IRAs had long been treated.3Thrift Savings Plan. SECURE 2.0 and the TSP
Unused 529 college savings can now be rolled into a Roth IRA for the same beneficiary. The lifetime cap is $35,000, the 529 must have been open at least 15 years, and each year’s rollover counts against the annual Roth IRA contribution limit. The change applied to distributions after December 31, 2023.
Two new employer-side options also opened in 2024. Starter 401(k) and 403(b) plans are deferral-only arrangements for employers that don’t already sponsor a plan, with employee contributions capped at the IRA limit ($7,500 for 2026).7Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,5008Internal Revenue Service. Publication 560 (2024), Retirement Plans for Small Business Pension-linked emergency savings accounts (PLESAs) let employers bolt a short-term Roth-treated savings bucket onto a defined contribution plan, with participant balances capped at $2,500 (indexed for inflation) and withdrawals free of the 10% early distribution penalty.9U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs: Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 571 (01/2026), Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans)
What Starts in 2025
The 2025 plan year triggers three notable changes.
Most new 401(k) and 403(b) plans, meaning those established after December 29, 2022, must automatically enroll eligible employees. The default deferral rate has to fall between 3% and 10% of pay and step up by one percentage point each year until it reaches at least 10% (and no more than 15%). Employees can always opt out or set a different rate. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees, companies less than three years old, church plans, and governmental plans are exempt.11U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 Section-by-Section Summary
Workers who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the tax year get a higher catch-up contribution limit in their 401(k) or 403(b): the greater of $10,000 or 150% of the standard 2024 catch-up amount, both indexed going forward.12Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions For 2026 that works out to $11,250, compared with $8,000 for other savers aged 50 and up.7Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
Long-term part-time workers also become eligible sooner. The original SECURE Act required three consecutive years of at least 500 hours; SECURE 2.0 cuts that to two consecutive years for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024.13Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2024-73, Additional Guidance on Long-Term Part-Time Employees
What Becomes Enforceable in 2026
One provision has a real start date and a real enforcement date, and they are not the same. If your wages from an employer topped $145,000 the prior year, any catch-up contributions you make must go into a designated Roth account on an after-tax basis. The $145,000 figure is a statutory base adjusted for cost-of-living in $5,000 increments.12Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions The rule technically applied to tax years beginning after December 31, 2023, but the IRS granted a two-year administrative transition through 2024 and 2025 during which noncompliant plans faced no penalty. Full enforcement begins in 2026, and plan sponsors must track wages and route catch-up dollars to the correct account type.
Still Ahead: 2027 and 2033
Two large pieces are still on the calendar.
In 2027, the existing Saver’s Credit is replaced by a Saver’s Match. Instead of trimming your tax bill, the federal government will deposit a matching contribution directly into your retirement account or IRA, equal to 50% of your contributions up to $2,000 a year, for a maximum federal deposit of $1,000. The match phases out above income thresholds starting at $41,000 for single filers and $71,000 for joint filers; both are statutory bases that will be inflation-adjusted before the provision takes effect.
In 2033, the RMD age climbs a second time, from 73 to 75. This later age applies to individuals born on or after January 1, 1960. Someone born in 1960 would turn 73 in 2033 but would not have to begin distributions until age 75, pushing their first RMD to 2035. For those born in 1959, the RMD age stays at 73.14Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-331Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2023-23, Relief for Reporting Required Minimum Distributions for IRAs