Clarifying Deadlines for SECURE and SECURE 2.0 Required and Discretionary Plan Amendments

Stakeholders have asked for clarification regarding whether plan amendments implementing SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions must be adopted by (1) the deadlines set forth in Notice 2024-2 (generally, December 31, 2026), or (2) the deadlines set forth in an applicable Required Amendments List (RA List). The answer depends on whether the plan amendment relates to a required amendment or a discretionary amendment.

Required amendments 

As explained in Notice 2025-60 (the 2025 RA List), remedial amendment periods for required amendments are governed by sections 5.03(1)(b), 5.03(2)(b), and 6.01 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40.  In general, this means that the remedial amendment period for a required amendment is the last day of the second calendar year following the calendar year in which the amendment is adopted or effective, whichever is later.  Further, section 6.01 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 provides that the plan amendment deadline for a disqualifying provision is the date on which the remedial amendment period with respect to the disqualifying provision expires.

As further explained in the 2025 RA List, section 7 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 provides that the Treasury Department and the IRS will publish an annual RA List, and section 5.03(1)(c) of Rev. Proc. 2022-40 provides that the remedial amendment period for a disqualifying provision that arises as a result of a change in qualification requirements generally expires on the last day of the second calendar year that begins after the issuance of the RA List on which the change in qualification requirements appears.  The 2025 RA List also explains that changes in requirements that cannot reasonably be reflected in plan language without guidance and with respect to which the Treasury Department and the IRS expect to issue guidance will not be listed on an RA List until that guidance is issued and applicable.  As an example set forth in the 2025 RA List, the Roth catch-up requirements under section 603 of SECURE 2.0 are expected to appear on the 2027 RA List (when the final Roth catch-up regulations generally become applicable), and, accordingly, the amendment deadline for those requirements generally will be December 31, 2029.

Similarly, the Treasury Department and the IRS expect to issue final regulations with respect to the following required SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions: (1) automatic enrollment requirements imposed by section 101 of SECURE 2.0, (2) long-term part-time requirements imposed by section 125 of SECURE and section 112 of SECURE 2.0, and (3) required minimum distribution requirements imposed by SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions that have not already appeared on an RA List.  Each of these SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions will be included on a future RA List after a final regulation relating to the particular provision generally becomes applicable, and, accordingly, the deadline for the adoption of each of these required amendments will be the end of the second plan year after the particular SECURE or SECURE 2.0 provision is listed on an RA List.  With respect to these SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions, final regulations are not expected to be applicable earlier than the plan year that begins six months after issuance of the final regulations. 

In addition, as a general matter, it is reasonable for stakeholders to assume that a change in qualification requirements that is not listed on the RA List for the year the change first applies will be listed on a future RA List. 

Discretionary amendments 

A statutory provision that permits, but does not require, a plan feature will not itself appear on an RA List.  Instead, as explained in the 2025 RA List, the plan amendment deadlines for discretionary amendments are governed by sections 5.03(1)(b), 5.03(2)(b), and 6.02 of Rev. Proc. 2022-40.  In general, this means that the deadline for discretionary amendments is the last day of the plan year in which the discretionary provisions are operationally put into effect under the plan. 

Notice 2024-2 extends the deadline for SECURE and SECURE 2.0 discretionary amendments until December 31, 2026 (with later deadlines for applicable collectively bargained plans, governmental plans, and section 403(b) plans maintained by a public school).  Accordingly, for example, if a plan that is not an applicable collectively bargained plan, governmental plan, or section 403(b) plan maintained by a public school began to permit participants to designate certain matching and nonelective contributions as Roth contributions beginning in the 2023 plan year, as permitted (but not required) under section 604 of SECURE 2.0, a plan amendment implementing that discretionary provision would need to be adopted by December 31, 2026 (rather than by the end of the 2023 plan year). 

Although SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions permitting discretionary plan provisions will never appear on an RA List, guidance with respect to discretionary plan provisions previously adopted will appear on an RA List (in Part C) for the year those changes are applicable.  Accordingly, for a plan that includes those discretionary plan provisions, a plan amendment implementing the guidance will need to be adopted by the end of the second plan year after the guidance is listed on the RA List.

Future guidance

The Treasury Department and the IRS expect to include language in the 2026 RA List clarifying the deadlines for SECURE and SECURE 2.0 required and discretionary plan amendments in a manner consistent with this article.

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