In late December 2022, Congress passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill to keep the government funded through September. Included in that bill, now signed into law by President Biden, was a package of retirement-related reforms collectively known as the SECURE 2.0 Act.

SECURE 2.0 builds on the original SECURE Act from 2019, which aimed to improve access to retirement savings for all Americans.

There are nearly 100 provisions in SECURE 2.0. While most of them aren’t particular to public defined benefit plans like Colorado PERA, many of them could affect public sector workers and retirees who have money saved in a defined contribution account like a 401(k) or 457 plan.

One such change that will affect the PERAPlus 401(k) and 457 Plans will be the way in which age 50+ catch-up contributions are administered.

PERA is evaluating what we will need to do to remain in compliance with the new law. We will be reaching out to our PERA-covered employers soon to discuss the use of Roth in the PERAPlus 401(k) and 457 Plans.