SECURE 2.0 Act Summary: What Changes in 2026

What is the SECURE 2.0 Act?

The SECURE 2.0 Act is a federal retirement law, signed December 29, 2022, that raised the age for required minimum distributions, increased catch-up contributions and made it easier to use annuities inside retirement accounts. Its dozens of provisions phase in over about a decade, so new rules are still taking effect in 2026 and beyond.

The biggest changes for people saving for or living in retirement:

• RMD age: 73 today, rising to 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
• Catch-up contributions: bigger limits at ages 60 to 63, and high earners must make catch-ups as Roth contributions.
• Annuities: a higher limit for qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs) and friendlier RMD rules for annuities held in IRAs.
• Penalties: the penalty for a missed RMD dropped from 50% to 25%, or 10% if you fix it quickly.

SECURE 2.0 changes in 2026

These rules and limits apply for the 2026 tax year, according to IRS Notice 2025-67:

• Roth catch-up rule: if you earned more than $150,000 from your employer in 2025, your 2026 catch-up contributions must go in as Roth (after-tax). Final IRS rules make this mandatory for most plans in 2027, and plans may apply it in good faith in 2026 (IRS).
• Super catch-up: if you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 in 2026, your workplace plan can let you add $11,250 instead of $8,000.

The new RMD age under SECURE 2.0

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) now start later than they used to:

• Lower penalty: missing an RMD now costs 25% of the shortfall, or 10% if you correct it within two years.
• No RMDs on Roth 401(k)s: since 2024, Roth accounts in workplace plans no longer require distributions while you are alive.
• Plan your amount: use our RMD calculator to estimate this year’s distribution.

What SECURE 2.0 means for annuities

Several provisions make annuities easier to use inside IRAs and 401(k)s:

• Bigger QLACs: SECURE 2.0 removed the old cap of 25% of your account and set a dollar limit, now $210,000 for 2026. A qualified longevity annuity contract delays RMDs on that money until income starts, as late as age 85.
• Friendlier RMD rules for annuities: features such as guaranteed increases and return-of-premium death benefits no longer create RMD problems for annuities held in retirement accounts.
• Partial annuitization: if part of an IRA is turned into an IRA annuity, you can combine it with the rest of the account when figuring RMDs. Annuity payments above the required amount can count toward the remainder.
• Charitable gift annuities from an IRA: at 70½ or older, you can make a one-time QCD of up to $55,000 to a charitable gift annuity.

If you are rolling money out of a 401(k) at retirement, a fixed annuity IRA rollover keeps the tax deferral and locks in a guaranteed rate.

SECURE 2.0 provisions already in effect

• 2023: RMD age rose to 73. The missed-RMD penalty fell to 25%. The QLAC 25% cap was removed.
• 2024: Roth 401(k) RMDs ended. Unused 529 money can roll into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA, up to $35,000 over a lifetime, if the 529 has been open at least 15 years. You can take one emergency withdrawal of up to $1,000 a year without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. The IRA catch-up began rising with inflation.
• 2025: the age 60 to 63 super catch-up began. Most new 401(k) and 403(b) plans must enroll workers automatically.

SECURE 2.0 changes still to come

• 2027: the Roth catch-up rule becomes mandatory for most plans. The Saver’s Match replaces the Saver’s Credit with a federal deposit into eligible savers’ retirement accounts (IRS).
• 2033: the RMD age rises to 75 for people born in 1960 or later.

Inherited IRAs and the 10-year rule

The 10-year rule came from the original SECURE Act of 2019, not SECURE 2.0. Most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty an inherited IRA by the end of the 10th year after the owner’s death.

• Annual RMDs may apply: if the owner had already started RMDs, the beneficiary must also take yearly distributions during the 10 years. IRS final rules apply this starting in 2025.
• Some beneficiaries can still stretch: spouses, minor children, disabled or chronically ill beneficiaries, and people no more than 10 years younger than the owner. See the IRS beneficiary rules for details.

The SECURE 2.0 Act gives retirees more time before RMDs and more room to use annuities for guaranteed income. If you are moving retirement money this year, compare today’s fixed annuity rates before you roll it over.

Frequently Asked Questions