IRS Grants Relief from Secure 2.0 Roth Catch-Up Provisions

Good news! On August 25, 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2023-62, which delays the implementation of a key, and administratively troublesome, SECURE 2.0 Act provision by two years, until tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Background

• In addition to regular pre-tax elective deferrals, 401(k) plans may permit participants to make “Roth” contributions, made on an after-tax basis and included in gross income in the taxable year contributed.
• The SECURE 2.0 Act contains a provision that requires 401(k) plan participants having FICA wages exceeding $145,000 per year (as indexed for inflation) to make all “catch-up”
  contributions on a Roth basis (see our blog on Secure 2.0 provisions). The provision is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2023.

Notice 2023-62

Notice 2023-62 grants a two-year “administrative transition period” during which:

• “Catch-up” contributions made by participants to whom the Roth catch-up requirement applies will be treated as satisfying the requirement even if the catch-up contributions are notdesignated as Roth contributions.
  • In other words, these contributions will continue to be treated as “catch-up” contributions, but will not be treated as “Roth” contributions during the transition period, as otherwise would have been required.

• Plans that do not currently permit Roth contributions may continue to allow “catch-up” contributions during the transition period without being amended.
  • This is welcome news to plan administrators and their advisors. Plans that do not presently permit Roth contributions, but wish to continue to permit individuals over the $145,000 threshold to continue to make “catch-up” contributions, will have to be amended to permit Roth contributions for all participants, to be nondiscriminatory.

Observation: The Notice also confirms that, despite a drafting glitch in the SECURE 2.0 statutory language which suggested that catch-up contributions might be unavailable after 2023, catch-up contributions will in fact remain.

Written Comments

Written comments on the Notice must be submitted, either electronically or by regular mail (see Notice for details), by October 24, 2023 in order to be given consideration.

More Information

More information about both “Roth” contributions and “catch-up” contributions is available on The Dashboard. Contact info@compliancedashboard.net to learn more!

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended only as a brief overview of IRS Notice 2023-62. It is not intended to address either Roth contributions or catch-up contributions generally, other SECURE 2.0 provisions, 401(k) plan qualification or other legal requirements for 401(k) plans, taxation of distributions, or related topics. As always, please consult your own ERISA attorney or other professional advisor for individualized advice concerning your own 401(k) plan.