Wednesday, October 22, 2025
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Central
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Mountain
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Pacific
The Treasury and IRS have released final regulations implementing key SECURE 2.0 provisions, including the Roth catch-up requirement for high earners and
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier today, Treasury and the IRS issued highly-anticipated final regulations addressing several changes to the catch-up contribution provisions implemented by SECURE 2.0. Proposed regulations were issued earlier this year (see our Legal Update here), and administrative questions lingered following the issuance of the proposed regulations. The much-welcomed final regulations answer a number of open questions that we had been grappling with following the enactment of SECURE 2.0 and the issuance of the proposed regulations earlier this year. Below is a high-level overview of several pressing issues that have been addressed by the final regulations. We will be issuing a more comprehensive Legal Update on the final rules in the coming days.
Under the proposed regulations, designated Roth contributions made by a participant at any point within a calendar year must be counted towards satisfying the Roth catch-up requirement (“Roth Catch-Up Requirement”). This provision caused administrative concerns and several commenters asked that the final rules make this permissive so that plans had the choice as to whether to include Roth deferrals made by the participant at any point in the calendar year towards the Roth Catch-Up Requirement. The final regulations provide plan administrators that use the deemed Roth approach with some – but not universal – flexibility. The final regulations do not seem to go so far as making this optional approach available in all situations, which we will cover in the forthcoming Legal Update. Continue Reading Final Catch-Up Rules: What Now? (Spoiler Alert: There is No Extension)
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 28, 2024, Washington State’s Governor, Jay Inslee, signed into law a bill that creates a new state-run retirement program called “Washington Saves.” Under the program, “covered employers” must give “covered employees” the opportunity to contribute a portion of their pay to an individual retirement account (“IRA”) on a pre-tax basis in order to save for retirement.
Only “covered employers” must comply with Washington Saves. A “covered employer” is an employer that:
Continue Reading Washington Saves; Washington State’s New State-Mandated Retirement Program
Seyfarth Synopsis: Under Section 604 of Secure 2.0, sponsors of 401(k), 403(b) and eligible governmental plans may allow employees to designate employer match (including match on student loan repayments) or nonelective contributions as Roth after-tax contributions at the time they are made. This provision was effective for contributions made after December 29, 2022 (i.e., the date Secure 2.0 was enacted). Since the issuance of Secure 2.0, a number of questions relating to this optional provision have been lingering. As previously reported here, on December 20, 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2024-2 (the “Notice”) providing guidance on several provisions under Secure 2.0, including Section 604. A brief overview of the guidance issued relating to designated Roth employer contributions is provided below.
No. The Notice clarifies – as we expected – that plans may, but are not required to allow participants to designate employer matching and/or nonelective contributions as Roth. This is the case even if the plan allows employees to make Roth employee contributions.Continue Reading “SECURE-ing” the Answers to Outstanding Questions on the Rothification of Employer Contributions
Seyfarth Synopsis: Adding to the holiday joy of employee benefits practitioners nationwide, yesterday the IRS issued guidance on several outstanding questions related to SECURE 2.0. At this time of year, we are especially thankful that the guidance was issued on a day other than the day before or following a national holiday.
The so-called “grab
On November 24, 2023, the IRS issued highly anticipated proposed regulations concerning the provisions under SECURE and SECURE 2.0, requiring 401(k) plans to expand deferral eligibility for long-term part-time employees. The proposed rules answer a number of burning questions that have been lingering since 2019 when SECURE was first enacted. In this special episode, Seyfarth