Welcome to Part 10 (of 10) of our series about the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) (our other articles are on our JL Employee Benefits Blog Page). Among the many changes within SECURE 2.0, the following allow for increased flexibility for participants to access certain retirement plan accounts when faced with qualifying
403(b)
SECURE 2.0 Series Part 9: Now It’s Easier Than Ever to Clean Up Those Nasty Little Messes!
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the Act) contains several provisions that liberalize the rules for fixing particular retirement plan administrative mistakes that happen occasionally. The IRS has a comprehensive program for correcting retirement plan failures, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), including a self-correction program and a voluntary compliance program (VCP). …
SECURE 2.0 Series Part 7: Matching Contributions Based on Student Debt Repayments and Financial Incentives
Additional Tools for Employers to Encourage Retirement Savings
Matching Contributions on Student Debt Payments
One of the most eagerly anticipated provisions of the “SECURE 2.0” legislation is the ability for employers to “match” within a defined contribution savings plan employees’ payments of student debt. This provision is just one of the many changes in SECURE…
SECURE 2.0 Series Part 5: A Little More SECURE-ity – Emergency Savings in Your 401(k)
Employees, especially those far from retirement, are sometimes hesitant to put money into their employer’s 401(k) plan, knowing that their money won’t be available to them if unexpected expenses arise. Congress and the Biden administration, recognizing the long-term benefit of incentivizing retirement savings, included two new means for plan participants to access emergency funds in…
SECURE 2.0 Series Part 2: Workin’ 9-5, What a Way to Make a Living – 401(k) Plan Eligibility for Part-Time Employees
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and Division T of the Act contains legislation dubbed the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). SECURE 2.0 contains an important provision regarding the eligibility of part-time employees to participate in an employer’s 401(k) plan or ERISA-governed 403(b) plan. The fundamental principle…
SECURE 2.0 Series Part 1: More Roth, More Catch-Up, and Catch-Up As Roth
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) contains several provisions that allow the federal government to have its cake (more tax dollars) and eat it too (more retirement savings, easing Social Security challenges). With SECURE 2.0, we find more Roth, more catch-up, and catch-up as Roth.
More Roth
Named after the late Delaware Senator…
Secure 2.0 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
As expected, the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0), an extensive piece of legislation aimed at retirement plan reform, is included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the Spending Bill). The 4,000+ page, $1.7 trillion Spending Bill was released early morning on Tuesday, December 20, with a passage deadline of Friday, December 23. If…
ESG Considerations for Retirement Plans: A Moving Target

For those with an eye on ERISA and its fiduciary rules, the past few years have caused whiplash when it comes to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investments in retirement plans. With a new rule from the Department of Labor imminent, let’s review where we are, how we got here, and what’s next.
ERISA…
Court Finds No ERISA Liability for Plan Provider Who Delivered Self-Interested Rollover Advice
A New York federal court recently held that a service provider for employer-sponsored retirement plans was not liable as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) when it used participant information to encourage certain plan participants to roll over assets into its more expensive managed account program. Carfora v. Teachers Ins. Annuity…
2023 Cost of Living Adjustments for Retirement Plans
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced its cost-of-living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations on benefits and contributions for retirement plans generally effective for Tax Year 2023 (see IRS Notice 2022-55). Most notably, the limitation on annual salary deferrals into a 401(k) or 403(b) plan will increase from $20,500 to $22,500 and the dollar threshold…