Secure Act 2.0

Here are some of the highlights of Secure Act 2.0 as it relates to personal finances:

  • Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Starting Age Is Getting Pushed Back Again
    • In 2020, the Secure Act changed the starting age for RMD’s to age 72. Secure Act
      2.0’s new starting age will be 75–but there’s a phase in. Here’s what it looks like:

  • RMD’s No Longer Required From Roth Employer Plans
    • Previously there were no RMD’s for Roth IRA’s, but you still had to take RMD’s
      from Roth 401k’s, Roth 403b’s, Roth 457’s, etc.
  • New Roth SIMPLE and SEP IRA’s
    • Prior to Secure 2.0, Roth options were not available in SIMPLE and SEP IRA’s.
  • Employers Can Now Make Roth Contributions
    • Prior to Secure 2.0, Employer matches and other contributions to employer
      plans were always traditional (tax deferred) contributions regardless of the
      employee’s contribution.
  • Roth Catch Up Contributions For Wages Over $145K
    • For W–2 Employees, if you earn more than $145K the previous year and you are
      making catch up contributions, they will automatically be Roth contributions.
  • Potential Ability to Transfer 529 Funds to Roth IRA’s
    • There is a $35K lifetime limit for these transfers and several other stipulations
      that must be met in order to allow this transfer to happen (529 must exist for 15
      years, etc.)
    • These transfers can start in 2024, but make sure you look up the rules to see if
      you would be allowed.
  • IRA Catch Up Contributions Will Be Indexed For Inflation Each Year
    • Starting in 2024, the catch–up contributions for those over age 50 will be indexed
      for inflation in $100 increments
  • Employer Plan Catch Up Contributions Will Increase For Ages 60–63
    • Starting in 2025, those who participate in Employer Retirement Plans and who
      are ages 60–63 will be able to contribute more than just the catch up
      contribution.
  • Maximum Annual Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) Will Be Indexed For
    Inflation
    • The annual amount for a QCD has been $100K for 15 years. Starting in 2024,
      QCD maximums will be indexed for inflation.
  • RMD Penalties Reduced
    • Beginning in 2023, the penalty for not taking your RMD for the year is reduced to 25% (from 50%) AND there is a correction window so that you can correct your mistake and reduce the penalty even further to 10%.

 

There are lots of other things in this Secure 2.0 Bill, but the above are the highlights that I feel are the most likely ones that apply to more people.

 

RMD’s (Required Minimum Distributions)

We are approaching the end of the year, and this is when you start hearing people mention RMD’s because they need to be satisfied by the end of the tax year—December 31st.

What are they?

RMD’s are distributions that you must take from a retirement account. Essentially, the government has given you (or the account owner) a tax break for saving this money in a retirement plan and RMD’s help with getting the money back in circulation and tax revenue for the government.

Who has to take them?

This is where it gets complicated. We can break this into two groups of people: age based for your own retirement account and inherited retirement accounts.

  • Age based for your own retirement accounts
    • You must start withdrawing money annually from your retirement accounts (except ROTH IRA’s) the year you reach age 72 (this was age 70 ½ if you reached 70 ½ before 1/1/2020).
    • How much do you have to take? This is based on your age, and you follow the Uniform Life Table from the IRS—there are a few exceptions that may require another table. You can check which table to use on the IRS site. Essentially, if you are required to take a distribution in year 2024, you see what age you will be in 2024 and divide your account value on January 1, 2024 (or December 31, 2023, because they are the same number) by the factor for your 2024 age in the table. You do this each year based on your age until you empty the account, or you are no longer with us.
  • Inherited retirement accounts
    • This is where it gets really tricky. There are a couple of moving parts. The first is figuring out if you are an eligible designated beneficiary. For the most part, this includes surviving spouses, disabled individuals, minor children or an individual who is not more than 10 years younger than the deceased owner.
      • These eligible designated beneficiaries can take distributions over their own life expectancy, except for minor children. Minor children must distribute the account completely within 10 years of reaching age 18.
      • If you are not an eligible designated beneficiary, then you must distribute the account within 10 years from the date of death of the original account owner. You also may be required to take annual distributions during those 10 years as well.

What happens if you do not take them on time?

There is a penalty for not taking your RMD and it is a big one—FIFTY (50)percent! You still need to take the RMD, pay taxes (federal and possibly state) on the amount AND pay a 50% penalty. All of this adds up and eats away at your distribution, so you really want to avoid these penalties.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that you just need to know that these rules exist. There are people (like Financial Journey!) that can help you with the details of figuring this out—and it will most likely cost you less to hire some help than to pay one penalty of missing your RMD.

Financial Journey LLC is a registered investment advisor offering advisory services in the states of Alabama, Florida, Virginia and in other jurisdictions where exempted. Information provided is for educational purposes only and not, in any way, to be considered investment or tax advice.

IRA vs. ROTH IRA

Whether you are preparing your income taxes yourself or you have hired someone to do them for you, you will most likely be seeing the question asking if you contributed to an IRA or ROTH IRA for the previous tax year.  By the way, you have until April 15th to make that contribution for the previous year-just make sure it is reported in your filing!

IRA’s

  • Tax Deferred—you get a tax break on the money you contribute.  You will pay tax on all distributions.  If you withdraw before age 59.5, there is a 10% penalty on top of the taxes unless you qualify for an exception.
  • Tax-Deductible Eligibility—If you and your spouse are not covered by a retirement plan at work, then your contributions are tax deductible.  If one or both of you are covered by a work retirement plan, then there are further income tests to determine if the contribution will be tax deductible.
  • Contribution Limits—For 2020 and 2021, the higher of your Earned Income or $6000 ($7000 if age 50+). 
  • Required Minimum Distributions—you are required to start taking money out of your IRA’s every year starting at age 72.   The government gave you a tax break all of these years, now they need some revenue.

ROTH IRA’s

  • After tax contributions—you contribute after tax money.  As long as the ROTH IRA has been open for 5 years and you are 59.5, then your distributions are TAX FREE.
  • Contribution Limits—the same for IRA’s above ($6K, $7K for age 50+).
  • Contribution Eligibility—there are income limits to be able to contribute to a ROTH IRA
  • No Required Minimum Distributions while the owner is alive, however, a beneficiary will be required to take minimum distributions but no tax will be due.

Let’s say you aren’t eligible to contribute to an IRA or a ROTH IRA, but you really like the idea of this ROTH IRA—because who doesn’t like TAX FREE MONEY?! If you have an IRA account you can do what is called a ROTH Conversion.  A ROTH Conversion is the process of converting your IRA account to a ROTH and paying the taxes now.  There are some other things to consider when doing this, so you should consult a professional.

Financial Journey LLC is a registered investment advisor offering advisory services in the state of Virginia and in other jurisdictions where exempted.  Information provided is for educational purposes only and not, in any way, to be considered investment or tax advice.