Commentary

SECURE 2.0 Act Guide—Updated 2025

An overview of the provisions, key details, and practical considerations.

Key Takeaways
  • On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). This occurred as part of the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, a federal government spending package
  • The bipartisan legislation builds on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE 1.0), retirement legislation signed into law at the end of 2019 and includes reforms that seek to expand retirement coverage and savings.
  • The new law includes both required and optional changes to defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans, and the effective dates vary across the provisions.
  • This guide provides a high-level summary of the key DC and DB plan provisions for workplace retirement plans and includes the SECURE 2.0 section reference, the name (which may have been modified for clarity), a short summary, the identification of the affected plan types, whether the provision is mandatory or optional, the effective date, and some practical considerations and comments. The provisions apply to ERISA and non-ERISA plans unless otherwise noted.
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SECURE 2.0 Act Guide