SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Contributions – Part 2: Mandatory Roth Catch-Up
SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Contributions Part 2: Mandatory Roth Catch-Up Contributions Coming in 2026 This post is Part 2 of our series covering the two major catch-up contribution changes under SECURE 2.0. In Part 1, we covered the new “super catch-up” for employees aged 60 through 63. Now we shift gears to focus on a change […]
SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Contributions – Part 1: Super Catch-Up
SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Contributions – Part 1: New Super Catch-Up Boosts Limits for Ages 60–63 SECURE 2.0 introduced two big changes to catch-up contributions in retirement plans—and both will require action from plan sponsors, payroll teams, and advisors. Because each one deserves focused attention, we’re covering them in a two-part series. This post focuses on […]
Long Term Part-Time Employee Rules
Long Term Part-Time Employees: What to Know About New Eligibility Rules You may have noticed a theme emerging in recent blog posts here at ERISA.com – SECURE 2.0 and its emphasis on improving employee retirement savings. In this installment, we will continue the theme by discussing Long Term Part-Time Employees (or LTPTs, as we’ll call […]
Should you take a loan out of your 401k?
During times of high financial stress, the idea of taking a loan out of your retirement savings fund can sound like the perfect solution. After all, it’s your money, right? Who wouldn’t consider taking advantage of money that you already have set aside for the future, isn’t that what it’s for? It’s clearly the quickest […]
The Golden Question: How much should I be saving for retirement?
We’re all aware of how crucial saving for retirement is. Not only for your future, but for a better peace of mind. Whether you’re ready to start talking about it or not, it’s a concern most people have, regardless of age. No one really wants to “have to” talk about their financial future, but the […]
Millennials and Retirement
In today’s changing economic climate, younger generations are facing new obstacles in saving for retirement. In contrast to previous generations, Millennials are set to have fewer Social Security benefits, as well as less personal retirement savings from a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan, due today’s low returns market, and increasing medical costs. As a […]
Sidecar Accounts
Before the retirement community shifted to a pretax 401(k) system in the 1980s, many companies offered a supplemental savings account (to be used for short-term emergencies) to complement the defined benefit (DB) plans of their employees. These supplemental savings accounts are nearly identical to what are known today as “sidecar accounts.” A sidecar account is […]
Hardship Withdrawals from 401(k) and 403(b) Plans
On February 23, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service released its Substantiation Guidelines for Safe-Harbor Distributions from Section 401(k) Plans. And on March 7, 2017 they released a similar memorandum regarding section 403(b) plans. These two statements outlined the requirements for safe harbor hardships in an effort to better inform the public about which events allow […]
Employee Investment Outcomes and the New Fiduciary Standard
When Section 401(k) became a permanent provision of the Internal Revenue Code in 1980, a seismic shift occurred in American workers’ preparation for retirement. The responsibility for contribution and investment decisions shifted from employers to employees. Before 1980, companies that offered a retirement plan were required to fund them. That meant that the employer alone […]
Employees & Short-Term Value
In today’s world of instant gratification, it’s no wonder that workers value short-term benefits the most. According to a worldwide study of more than 10,000 workers conducted by Mercer, a salary increase was preferred over all types of benefits. While saving for retirement may seem to some like saving for a stranger, U.S. workers did rank DC […]