On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), a widely supported bipartisan piece of legislation which significantly amends portions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). The SECURE Act was part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”). While the main focus of the SECURE Act is to reform how employees save for retirement, the SECURE Act also includes meaningful changes in other areas of employee benefits.
This article provides an overview of some of the changes enacted by the SECURE Act that impact the employer-employee relationship. Employers will want to work with their legal counsel to understand the nuances of the SECURE Act to determine whether any of their employee benefits plans need to be amended or other action taken in light of the SECURE Act.