The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Treasury Department have announced an extension, from April 22 to May 22, 2024, of the deadline for responses to its request for information (RFI) on the effectiveness of SECURE 2.0’s notice and disclosure requirements.

On January 12, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released initial guidance on implementation of SECURE 2.0 pension-linked emergency savings accounts (PLESAs). The guidance is in Notice 2024-22.

On January 19, the Department of Labor (DOL), Treasury, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the disclosure requirements of SECURE 2.0. The agencies said they would use this input to “explore ways to make it easier for workers to understand their benefits.”

When the first session of the 118^th Congress ended last month, lawmakers left undone controversial and pressing business that will make January a difficult month. Pending are government funding, international aid, and expiring law issues on which there is as yet little or no consensus. Caught in the crosshairs are a tax package with provisions of interest to NAIFA members, extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and proposals to defund regulatory initiatives like the fiduciary-only rule.

On December 20, the Treasury Department issued a “grab bag” of guidance on the new retirement savings rules and opportunities in the SECURE 2.0 retirement savings law enacted late in 2022. Notice 2024-02 covers a dozen of the law’s provisions, in a question-and-answer format.

On December 6, professional staff to Congress’ retirement savings committees released a draft of their proposed SECURE 2.0 technical corrections package. The committee staff are requesting input from stakeholders to be sure the proposed fixes work, and to provide one last opportunity to add any newly identified errors that need correcting.

In Notice 2023-62, the IRS and Treasury clarified that many catch-up contributions for 2024-2025 will not have to be Roth contributions for taxpayers earning $145,00/year or more.

Lawmakers returned to Washington after a six-week August recess with just two weeks in which to provide funding for the entirety of the discretionary spending available to the federal government. Other must-pass legislation, also due by October 1, further complicates September. And the politics are extremely difficult for all of this must-do legislation. A number of issues of concern to NAIFA could be caught up in what looks like will be a brutal month (or four).

The “four corners” of Congress’ tax-writing committees (House and Senate Chairs and Ranking Members) have written to the Treasury Department to say they intend to pass new legislation to address needed clarifications and corrections to SECURE 2.0.

The chair and ranking member of the ERISA-focused Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee wrote to the Department of Labor (DOL) urging the agency to prioritize guidance on provisions relating to pension-linked emergency savings and promotion of employee ownership. The letter was written by HELP Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ranking Member Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). It was sent to DOL’s Acting Secretary, Julie Su, on May 30.

The Secure Notarization Act of 2023, S.1212, was introduced on April 19 in the Senate. It joins the House bill, H.R.1059, which the House approved by voice vote this past February. NAIFA supports this legislation.