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Navigating SECURE 2.0 Changes in 2026

"From Roth catch-up contributions to new paper statement requirements and distributions for long-term care premiums, the coming year promises to test your adaptability and attention to your clients' needs. [Here] are some factors to consider or questions to evaluate to ensure compliance and deliver value."

SEPs Vs 401(k) Plans: 3 Factors for 3 Client Profiles

"Although SEPs can be beneficial, there are certain types of small businesses that may want to evaluate a 401(k) plan in comparison to a SEP. Some small business owners may find that a 401(k) plan is better suited to meet their objectives when considering three factors: [1] contribution allocation; [2] maximum contribution deduction; and [3] eligibility and vesting conditions."

Evaluating Auto Rollover IRA Providers

"To avoid being a landfill where small balances languish, automatic rollover IRAs -- whether 'traditional' or related to auto-portability -- should be evaluated using ... three criteria. These criteria ensure that individuals aren't charged excessive fees, earn a reasonable rate of return and have access to their money and information to make better financial decisions."

The Truth About Auto-Portability: There Are Better Alternatives

"Improving individuals' plan experiences and securing their future financial outcomes is (and should be) one of our industry's top priorities. Currently, their plan experience is negatively impacted by the distribution and rollover process. Their future financial outcome is jeopardized by poor decisions without expert help. Auto-portability has limited application in fixing these critical issues. A better solution is to improve the distribution and rollover process through standardization and automation."

The Truth About Auto-Portability

"Articles or marketing pieces supporting auto-portability appear to rely on two faulty strategies. Remove those misconceptions and you realize that auto-portability is not significantly better than existing automatic rollover IRA programs.... For the 55% who cash out completely, auto-portability does not help because the balances have not moved from the 'transfer out' plan to an automatic rollover IRA first."

Understanding the Auto-Portability Structure and Its Value Proposition

"[A]uto-portability is limited to small balances -- $7,000 or less.... This can make it very confusing for individuals who -- over time -- leave multiple employers with balances on each side of the $7,000 threshold.... Auto-portability deducts a fee from each individual's automatic rollover IRA balance -- without their consent -- before sending the money to the 'transfer-in' plan.... The auto-portability process adds three more notices to the list of required retirement plan notices.... The 'transfer-in' plan must designate a plan representative to have fiduciary responsibility for monitoring transfers into the plan through auto-portability."

Time Is Running Out to Take Advantage of IRS Forfeiture Relief

"The IRS considers it to be an operational failure if forfeitures remain unused beyond the 12-month deadline.... [T]he proposed regs provide transitional relief for old forfeiture balances. For any forfeitures incurred during any plan year that begins before January 1, 2024, the IRS will treat those forfeitures as having been incurred in the first plan year that begins on or after January 1, 2024."

How to Avoid the Need to Submit Any Information to the DOL Lost and Found Database

"the DOL asks for information for participants who (i) have separated from service, (ii) are owed a plan benefit, and (iii) are age 65 or older. Those three criteria are identical to the ability to process a force-out distribution without participant consent. No information needs to be submitted to the Lost and Found Database if you require any participant satisfying these three criteria to take a distribution (including by force-out distribution)."

You Can Transfer Balances of $1,000 or Less to State Unclaimed Property Funds, But Should You?

"[FAB 2025-01] allows temporary relief of DOL enforcement for fiduciaries who transfer retirement plan benefits of $1,000 or less owed to missing participants to a state unclaimed property fund. This relief is only provided if the plan fiduciaries comply with applicable conditions. But satisfying the applicable conditions can be overly-complex ... To verify if the fund qualifies as an 'eligible state fund,' ... nine conditions must be met by the state unclaimed property fund[.]"

SECURE 2.0 in 2025: Big Plan Design Changes

"Knowing how the following three provisions influence plan design, administration, and costs can help you better serve your clients. [1] The mandatory automatic enrollment feature will shake up how plans are designed in the future. [2] The long-term, part-time employee change in 2024 gets a reduction in 2025. [3] Participants in their early 60s get a chance to save more for the future."