IRS 401(k) Guidance Spells Out New Retirement Access Provisions

The IRS issued long-awaited guidance establishing a cursory framework for employers to implement provisions of the landmark retirement access law Congress passed late last year.

The series of questions and answers (Notice 2024-2) that tax regulators issued Wednesday covers major SECURE 2.0 Act (Pub. L. No. 117-328) topics such as required automatic enrollment for new plans, increased startup tax credits, and financial incentives to encourage participation.

SECURE 2.0 requires new 401(k) plans to automatically enroll workers into their plans and automatically escalate worker contributions. The IRS guidance clarifies when merged plans will be treated as pre-enactment ...