By James Royal, Ph.D., Bankrate.com

Congress has shaken up retirement plans once again, and the changes benefit a wide swath of Americans saving for their golden years through IRAs or employer plans such as 401(k)s.

The SECURE Act 2.0 became law in the last days of 2022, and the new rules provide assistance for retirement savers, small businesses and many others. In fact, the changes are so wide that many of them didn’t officially begin until 2024 or later. The law is a sweeping follow-up to 2019’s SECURE Act, which itself shook up retirement funding and planning.

It’s worth noting that while the new law permits the following features, in many cases employers have to set up their retirement plans such as 401(k)s to actually enable those features. So you’ll want to check with your employer to see if they offer the new features and when.

Here are ten of the most important changes in the SECURE Act 2.0 and what you need to know.

1. The age for required minimum distributions rises

The SECURE Act 2.0 changes the age for when savers must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement plans, not once but twice. The age to start taking RMDs has now become 73, as of 2023, up from age 72. Then starting on Jan. 1, 2033, the age for beginning to take RMDs jumps to 75. The law applies to 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans and IRAs, among others.

“Probably the biggest change in the SECURE Act 2.0 is the change to RMDs,” says Brian McGraw, CFP and senior wealth adviser with Hightower Wealth Advisors in St. Louis. “It’s the one that retirees and soon-to-be retirees want to get right.”

Due to the changes in the law, no one needed to start taking their RMDs in 2023. But if you had already started taking your RMD, you were not off the hook for taking it in 2023.

“People who are already taking RMDs still have to take them, but those who haven’t started don’t need to start for another year,” says McGraw.

How retirement savers are impacted: The extra time could let you compound your money inside a tax-advantaged account for even longer, meaning you could have more money when it comes time to withdraw it.

2. No more RMDs on employer-sponsored Roth accounts

Starting in 2024, employer-sponsored Roth accounts such as the Roth 401(k), no longer have required minimum distributions. This change aligns the withdrawal rules for employer-sponsored plans with those for the Roth IRA, which has no RMD. Previously, many advisers suggested that clients roll over Roth 401(k) accounts to a Roth IRA to avoid RMDs.

How retirement savers are impacted: This change simplified the withdrawal rules for the Roth 401(k) and helpfully aligned them with those of the Roth IRA.

3. Lower penalties for missing RMDs

If you don’t meet your RMD, you’ll be hit with a penalty. Previously, that penalty was a whopping 50% of the amount that you didn’t withdraw. The new law reduces that penalty to 25%. If you miss an RMD from an IRA, you may be able to reduce that penalty to 10% if you correct the deficiency in a timely manner and refile your taxes.

How retirement savers are impacted: The lower penalty means more money can stay in your pocket, though it’s easy enough to avoid this penalty in the first place.

4. Automatic enrollment and escalation in retirement plans

Starting in 2025, newly created 401(k) and 403(b) plans will be required to automatically enroll eligible employees with a minimum contribution of at least 3%. Plans must include an auto-escalation feature that raises the savings rate by 1% annually, up to a maximum of 10% or 15%, depending on the plan. However, the employee may opt out of the plan.

“Perhaps the biggest hurdle employers face in helping their employees invest for retirement is simply getting people enrolled in retirement plans,” says Edward Gottfried, Betterment at Work’s director of product.

How retirement savers are impacted: “Auto-enrollment and auto-escalation don’t just increase retirement savings but also contribute to better financial outcomes for employees: Employees who start out auto-enrolled more frequently contribute more than the amount they were auto-enrolled at then decrease that amount,” says Gottfried.

5. Larger catch-up contributions

“One of the bigger things for savers is the larger catch-up contributions,” says McGraw. “If you’re between [age] 60 and 63, you’ll be able to contribute up to $10,000 as a catch-up contribution.”

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Generally, the law allows workers aged 50 and over to make catch-up contributions of $7,500 each year to 401(k) plans, and that will continue. However, those in the special age group will be able to contribute up to the $11,250 level in 2025. The new provision began on Jan. 1, 2025.

In addition, the maximum catch-up contribution will be indexed to inflation, allowing workers to save more as inflation increases overall prices.

How retirement savers are impacted: Older workers will be able to save more in their employer-sponsored retirement plans.

6. Catch-up contributions for higher earners must go into a Roth

Starting in 2026, if you earned wages of $145,000 or more in the prior calendar year, any catch-up contributions at age 50 or older to an employer-sponsored plan must be made to a Roth account. If you earned less than this amount, you won’t be forced to contribute to the Roth version but can decide to deposit it into the Roth version or a traditional (pre-tax) version of the account, for example, a traditional 401(k). That income threshold will be adjusted for inflation in the future.

How retirement savers are impacted: While it’s useful to save a lot of money, the government wants to limit how much you can save in tax-deductible retirement accounts. The benefit is that more money will be stashed in an after-tax Roth account, meaning it’s tax-free at retirement time.

7. Employer matching can be treated as a Roth contribution

Previously, any employer matching contributions had to be treated as a pre-tax contribution, meaning they went into a traditional 401(k) account or the equivalent. The new law changes that, allowing matching contributions also to go into a Roth version of the account, if desired. However, unlike the prior pre-tax matching funds, matching amounts that go into a Roth account are taxable.

How retirement savers are impacted: Workers have an even greater ability to sock away funds in Roth accounts, which lets you skip the taxes when it comes time to withdraw the funds at retirement.

8. Student loan payments qualify for matching contributions

The new law allows student loan payments to act like a salary deferral that can be matched by an employer’s matching contributions. In effect, borrowers can pay off their student loans while still receiving the employer’s matching contributions for retirement.

“In a recent survey of American employees, we found that 67% of savers said their student loan debt has impacted their ability to save for retirement,” says Gottfried. “By allowing employers to offer a 401(k) match on dollars their employees use to repay their loans, we’re going to see a massive increase in the number of savers and a fantastic step forward in those savers’ preparations for retirement.”

However, remember that employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s have an annual employee contribution limit ($23,500 for 2025), capping the total potential benefit.

“This provision seems like a win-win,” says McGraw.

How retirement savers are impacted: Those with student loans can still enjoy the “free” matching funds that are enjoyed by all those contributing to an employer’s retirement plan.

9. 529 plans can be rolled over into Roth IRAs

One of the biggest downsides of saving in a 529 education savings plan has been what to do with the funds if they’re unused. The SECURE Act 2.0 allows that money to be rolled over into a Roth IRA. But there’s some fine print: The money can be rolled over into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary after the account has been open for at least 15 years, and is limited to the maximum annual Roth contribution. In addition, there’s a $35,000 lifetime limit on the rollover amount.

How retirement savers are impacted: This change can provide a lot of benefit for those holding 529 plans with unused money.

10. SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs now have Roth options

Small employers may use SEP IRAs or SIMPLE IRAs to help their employees fund retirement. Those plans got even better: The new law allows employers to offer Roth versions of those plans, giving employees the ability to grow and withdraw their wealth tax-free in a Roth account.

The new feature for SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs were available starting in 2023, though plan providers will require some time to update their systems to allow for it.

How retirement savers are impacted: This is good news for the employees of small businesses who use these plans, allowing them the power of a Roth account.

Bottom line

This list of changes is just a starting point for what’s contained in the law. Some features of the new law will not come into effect until next year or even later. But even without the fine print, retirement savers can still take advantage of the changes.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Whoever claimed trade wars are easy to win clearly wasn’t an American farmer. Witness the enormous collateral damage America’s soybean producers are suffering amid President Trump’s trade war with China.

Exports of American soybeans to China have collapsed this year, with no new orders logged in recent months ahead of the prime autumn export season. Before Mr. Trump’s first round of tariffs on China in 2018, China was the largest export market for American soy. It typically bought about 30% of total U.S. soybean production and some 60% of American soybean exports. Those exports were worth $12.8 billion annually, the soybean farmers’ trade association reports.

RELATED: Trump’s trade battle with China puts US soybean farmers in peril

Beijing has made a concerted effort to diversify its supply of soybeans and related products since the first Trump Administration. Brazil and, more recently, Argentina have been the big winners.

Beijing also has imposed a 23% retaliatory tariff on American soybeans in response to Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports this year. This adds some $2 per bushel to the cost of American soybeans sold in China, far outweighing an American production price advantage of 80 to 90 cents a bushel, Reuters reports. As a result, American farmers lose out on large advance orders since China buys from the U.S. only to fill gaps in South American and other production.

At least American soy farmers are in good company as China targets a range of American agricultural products for retaliation. Cattle ranchers are seeing Chinese demand for American beef dwindle as China shifts its consumption to imports from Australia.

The protectionists’ solution is to throw more subsidies at American farmers. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Mr. Trump last month floated plans to use a portion of tariff revenue to write checks to farmers.

Mr. Trump said the handouts to farmers might continue “until the tariffs kick in to their benefit,” in which case Treasury will be making payouts for a long time. And talk about blowing a hole in protectionists’ argument that tariffs are free money for the government that can be used for other purposes.

Don’t mistake any of this for a Chinese victory per se. Beijing is forcing Chinese consumers — who have much lower per-capita incomes than Americans — to pay more for soy products than they otherwise would. Most recent data point to a marked deterioration as the Trump tariffs weigh on an economy already struggling with a property-market deflation and a crushing debt burden.

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But the plight of America’s farmers is a reminder that the destruction of a trade war is mutually assured, and not inflicted solely by one side on the other as Mr. Trump’s trade warriors so often claim. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said America holds all the cards in Mr. Trump’s tariff game because the rest of the world needs to sell us stuff. Tell that to America’s farmers.

— The Wall Street Journal

For the past 50 years, St. Paul’s Park Square Theatre has been a hub for Twin Cities performers to perfect their craft. After overcoming a period of financial hardships and near closure, Park Square is moving towards a brighter future.

After an abrupt cancellation of all but one show in its 2023 season, Park Square Theatre has returned to a four-show season of unique American contemporary plays and performances. This season is led in part by Stephen DiMenna, the theater’s executive artistic director.

“For our audiences, I want to bring them challenging new American plays that they’re not going to see at any other theater in town. So that they feel like ‘I don’t have to go to New York to see a high-quality production of a new play. I can see it right here, in downtown St. Paul,’ ” DiMenna said.

DiMenna joined Park Square in October 2023, when the theater had a staff of two and was struggling to remain afloat. After a reconfiguration of leadership and a season spent looking for financial backers, the theater returned the following year.

After 25 years living in New York City, working as a freelance director and teaching directing courses at New York University, DiMenna moved to Minnesota in 2019.

“What’s so wonderful about working in the Twin Cities is that it’s a community and all the actors know each other,” DiMenna said. “It’s much more of a family here.”

Park Square opened in 1975 in the 70-seat Park Square Court building. Today, it can seat 550 in the Historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. Its current production, “It’s Only a Play,” runs through Oct. 19.

“I was proud of the work we did when we were tiny, and I was proud of the work that was happening by the time I left, when we were not so tiny,” said former artistic director Richard Cook.

As Park Square’s former and longest-running artistic director, Cook said his responsibilities in those first years included thawing radiator pipes with a propane torch. Cook worked at the theater for 43 years, in different capacities, before retiring in 2018.

“There was a special joy in finding those moments, whether it’s a comedy with a good house laugh, or a more serious play with an ‘Aha!’ moment,” Cook said. “It’s those artists and that audience being in the same place in that moment. There’s that sense of communal experience.”

Twin Cities jazz vocalist and performer Thomasina Petrus has worked with Park Square for years, starring in their production of “Lady Day” as legendary vocalist Billie Holiday in 2008. She later returned to this role ten years later at the Jungle Theater.

“I hope the public starts to realize just how important theater is,” Petrus said. “Theater can encompass so many layers of artistry: dance, music, song, storytelling, set design. All of it is so thoughtful.”

Petrus worked previously with DiMenna in her high school career, when he helped direct the North Community High School production of “Romeo and Juliet” and “West Side Story,” where she played Maria.

“Part of what pleases me is that it seems a good deal of what the theater is doing right now, picks up on some of the points of the legacy that I helped build,” Cook said.

Looking toward the future, DiMeena hopes to expand the theater’s season to six shows, as well as begin high school theater programs in the St. Paul community.

“I think we still have room to grow,” DiMenna said.

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AMY GREGG: Hosts a meet-and-greet introducing her book “Fowl Play.” Noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

CARSON FAUST: A two-spirit and enrolled member of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe of North Carolina who lives in Minneapolis launches his novel “If the Dead Belong Here” in conversation with Mona Susan Power. 7 p.m. Monday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

WALLY LAMB: Bestselling author whose books include “She Came Undone” and “I Know This Much is True” discusses his work in Friends of the Hennepin County Library’s Pen Pals series. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. Friday, Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Main St. For ticket information, go to supporthclib.org.

GREIL MARCUS: Presents “Mystery Train” in conversation with Michaelangelo Matos. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

MIDSTREAM READING SERIES: With Emily August, Kathryn Kysar, Debra J Stone and Davi Gray. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Unity Church-Unitarian, 732 Holly Ave., St. Paul.

STEM BOOK FESTIVAL: Bakken Museum, 3537 Zenith Ave. S., Minneapolis, is celebrating 50 years of blending science, technology and the humanities to educate and inspire Minnesotans with a weekend of events that reflect its history and future. Highlights are a Friday gala at Historic Grain Belt Brewery, 1220 Marshall St. N.E., Mpls., and a free 50th anniversary bash Saturday when guests can explore the museum and take in interactive exhibits, family-friendly science activities and a celebration of the museum’s mission. The first Minnesota STEM book festival will be Oct. 12 in a science-meets-literature event for all ages. The free program from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the museum includes author readings, workshops and a pop-up book market that highlights STEM themes. For more information, go to thebakken.org/fifty.

JOE SIPLE: Native of Rochester, Minn., discusses “The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride,” his internationally bestselling novel about a 100-year-old former baseball player who forms an unlikely friendship with a spirited 10-year-old boy. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

DEBRA J STONE: Launches “The House on Rondo,” her memoir about the destruction of St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood to make way for the Interstate 94 freeway, in conversation with Melina Mangal. 1 p.m. Saturday, Black Garnet Books, 1319 W. University Ave., St. Paul.

(Courtesy of Down & Out Books)

RENEE VALOIS: Minnesota author of “Collecting Spirits: Life with Ghosts, Guardians & Guides” presents true ghost stories — and the chance to share yours — when she discusses how to deal with troublesome spirits and other spooky topics. Noon-6 p.m. Friday; presentation 6 p.m. Free. Moonstone Books, 3304 E. Lake St., Mpls.

What else is going on

Don’t forget Opus & Olives, Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s fundraiser gala Oct. 12 at St. Paul River Centre, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. Guest readers are Rick Atkinson (“The Fate of the Day”), Jade Chang (“What a Time to Be Alive”), Jason Mott (National Book Award for “Hell of a Book”) and Nita Prose (“The Maid’s Secret”). For ticket information, go to thefriends.org/opus.

Rain Taxi Review, the Minneapolis-based literary publication, hosts a 30th anniversary exhibit and free opening night reception Tuesday at Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Mpls. The exhibit features publications, pictures and artifacts culled from three decades, including select covers from 119 print issues, rare chapbooks, broadsides and side projects Rain Taxi has published, as well as posters, pictures and other images tracking the history of the publication’s local events, including 25 years of hosting the Twin Cities Book Festival. For information and registration for the reception, go to raintaxi.com/rain-taxi-30th-anniversary-exhibit-and-opening.

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