(This article originally appeared in the January 2024 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)

The 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act is an important law that will have far-reaching impacts on the way Americans save for retirement. Some changes have already gone into effect, such as the increase in the age when owners of retirement accounts must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs), which is now age 73. Other changes have yet to take place. Here are some changes that will take effect in 2024 and the coming years.

RMDs and Roth 401(k) Accounts

While Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs) have never had RMDs, Roth 401(k) accounts and Roth Thrift Savings Plan accounts have always been subject to RMDs. This year, the SECURE 2.0 Act eliminates RMDs for qualified employer Roth plan accounts.

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Emergency Withdrawals

You now can take distributions of up to $1,000 from your workplace retirement plan to meet necessary personal or family emergency expenses.

Emergency withdrawals are not subject to the 10% early-withdrawal penalty tax, but participants must repay the distribution within the next three years to be eligible for subsequent emergency withdrawals.

529 to Roth IRA Conversion

Starting in 2024, you can convert up to $35,000 of a 529 education savings account tax- and penalty-free to a Roth IRA as long as it has been owned by the beneficiary for 15 years. The conversion amount is subject to annual contribution limits for Roth IRAs.

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Student Loan 401(k) Match

Employers now can make matching contributions to retirement plan accounts based on their employees’ qualified student loan payment amounts.

Roth Catch-Up Change Delayed

Changes that would have required earners making more than $145,000 to make catch-up contributions to employer-sponsored retirement accounts on a Roth rather than pre-tax basis have now been delayed until 2026.

Changes in 2025 and After

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the annual catch-up contribution limit will be increased to $10,000 or 150% of the regular catch-up limit, whichever is greater, for those ages 60 to 63.

An estimated 1 in 5 workers have left behind or forgotten retirement accounts. SECURE 2.0 directs the Department of Labor to create a new searchable online database called the Retirement Savings Lost and Found.