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“The Secure Act” – Is Congress Coming for Your IRA?

An Opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal the other day detailed “The Secure Act”, a new law being considered in Congress, that has tremendous implications for any person’s retirement plans. We thought you all might find interesting and informative and you can find the original article here (paid Wall Street Journal account required to read the whole thing).

We’ve been tracking the progress of this and similar legislation that may impact your retirement strategy. Below, is our summary of how key aspects of this pending legislation might require changes to your retirement plans.

If this legislation is ultimately signed into law, it will create major shifts in the retirement planning landscape. You should be talking with your financial professional now regarding how you may be affected so you can get ahead of the changes.

Implications for your retirement plans are many:

  1. IRA Required Minimum Distribution start age is pushed from 70.5 to 72.
  2. The current Stretch IRA provision (IRA’s left to non-spousal beneficiaries) is eliminated and only gives heirs up to 10 years to liquidate the IRA’s entire value.
  3. The current spousal beneficiary provision remains unchanged.
  4. Without further Congressional action, current tax rates expire in 2025 and are going up.
  5. Trust planning with IRA’s for heirs will have significant implications to consider.
  6. Tax planning considerations for non-spousal inherited IRA’s will need to be revisited.
  7. College planning for those inheriting IRA’s with college age children will need to be revisited.

If you need help with your retirement strategy, give us a call or come visit with us. We’d love to help you understand how these potential legislative changes may affect you and your heirs now or in the future.

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