Secure your 401(k)

Tacked on to Congress' must-pass 2020 appropriations bill is the first meaningful piece of retirement legislation in a decade. Known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, or more simply the SECURE Act, the bill includes several changes and enhancements that could impact the retirement savings strategies of millions of Americans.

Reshma Kapadia has the details:

Some of the biggest features of the bill for individual investors include removing the age limit restricting IRA contributions; raising the age at which people need to start taking required minimum withdrawals; provisions that could encourage annuities in work-based retirement plans; and closing a loophole that allowed affluent investors to stretch the tax advantages of IRA across multiple generations. For younger investors: $10,000 of 529 plans can be used to pay off student debt and people can take out $5,000 from 401(k) plans without penalty to help with the costs related to a child’s birth or adoption.

It also could make it easier for more companies to include annuities in their retirement plans, but it also takes away their responsibility to assess an insurer's financial health.

The bill includes many small changes and tweaks, but leaves the thorniest retirement issue untouched: Social Security funding. That's a whole different fight for a different day.

Reshma has more on what financial advisors are recommending to savers and retirees under the Secure Act. And read more about the impact on small businesses and financial advisors themselves.