On December 16, 2019, Congress incorporated the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act), which passed the House earlier this year, into a bipartisan appropriations bill that must pass by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. The SECURE Act includes the following provisions relating to IRAs:
- Repeals the maximum age for making Traditional IRA contributions
- Allows penalty-free withdrawals in the event of birth or adoption of a child from retirement plans
- Increases the required minimum distribution age from 70½ to age 72
- Requires non-spouse beneficiaries (with some exceptions) to withdraw inherited balances from IRAs (and defined contribution plans) within 10 years of the death of the account owner
- Increases the penalties for failure to file certain information returns
The legislation will be voted on in the House on Tuesday, and then it will move to the Senate. If passed by Congress before end of week, as expected, the SECURE Act will be the most comprehensive retirement reform legislation passed in over a decade and will be effective January 1, 2020.