The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently posted an Employee Plans newsletter clarifying how to determine the deadline for adopting plan amendments related to SECURE and SECURE 2.0. The key distinction is whether the amendment is required or discretionary. This clarification responds to questions from retirement plan stakeholders seeking to reconcile the general SECURE and SECURE 2.0 amendment deadline in Notice 2024-2, which for many plans is December 31, 2026,¹ with the amendment timing reflected in Notice 2025-60, the 2025 Required Amendments List (RA List).

Deadlines for required amendments

For required amendments that reflect a mandatory qualification change, the newsletter describes the applicable remedial amendment period as generally ending on the “last day of the second calendar year following the calendar year in which the amendment is adopted or effective, whichever is later.” Furthermore, when a qualification change appears on an annual RA List, the adoption deadline generally runs to the end of the second calendar year that begins after the RA List is issued.

The IRS also noted that certain changes in qualification requirements that cannot reasonably be incorporated into plan language without further guidance will not be included on an RA List until official guidance has been issued and becomes applicable. The newsletter uses the SECURE 2.0 Roth catch-up requirement under section 603 of SECURE 2.0 as an example, stating that this provision is expected to appear on the 2027 RA List when final regulations generally become applicable. If that timing holds, the related amendment deadline would generally be December 31, 2029.

The same approach applies to the following required SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions for which the Treasury and IRS expect to issue final regulations. For each of these items, the amendment deadline generally will be the end of the second plan year after the relevant provision is included on an RA List. The IRS also noted that final regulations for these provisions are not expected to apply earlier than the plan year beginning six months after those final regulations are issued.

• Automatic enrollment requirements under section 101 of SECURE 2.0²
• Long-term part-time requirements under section 112 of SECURE and section 125 of SECURE 2.0³
• Required minimum distribution requirements under SECURE 2.0 that were not included in the 2025 RA List⁴

The IRS indicated that stakeholders may reasonably assume that if a qualification change is not listed on the RA List for the year in which it first becomes applicable, it is expected to appear on a future RA List.

Deadlines for discretionary amendments

The rules differ significantly for discretionary amendments, which implement optional plan features that the law permits but does not require. The IRS explains that the deadline for a discretionary amendment is generally the last day of the plan year in which the provision is put into operational effect.

However, Notice 2024-2 provides transition relief for SECURE and SECURE 2.0 discretionary amendments by extending this deadline to December 31, 2026, for most plans. Later deadlines apply to certain collectively bargained plans, governmental plans, and public school 403(b) arrangements.

The newsletter includes a practical example: If a nongovernmental, non-collectively bargained plan that is not a public school 403(b) arrangement began allowing participants to elect Roth treatment for certain matching or nonelective employer contributions beginning in the 2023 plan year, the amendment implementing that optional feature generally would not have been due by the end of the 2023 plan year. Instead, under the relief in Notice 2024-2, the amendment generally would be due by December 31, 2026.

Subsequent guidance on discretionary changes

The IRS also distinguished between discretionary statutory changes and any subsequent guidance affecting those changes.

• Statutory provisions: Discretionary SECURE and SECURE 2.0 provisions themselves will not appear on an annual RA List.
• Subsequent guidance: However, if guidance is issued for a discretionary feature, it will be included on the RA List for the year in which the changes are applicable. If a plan adopted the discretionary provision, the related conforming amendment is generally due by the end of the second plan year after that guidance is included on the RA List.

Key takeaway for plan professionals

The Treasury and IRS said they expect to incorporate this clarification into the 2026 RA List. For plan professionals, the main takeaway is that December 31, 2026, remains an important deadline, but it is not a universal deadline for every SECURE or SECURE 2.0 amendment. Determining the correct timing requires first identifying whether the amendment is mandatory or optional, and then evaluating whether the relevant provision has already been addressed on an RA List or is still awaiting applicable guidance.

Please contact your Milliman consultant or your plan’s legal counsel to determine how this may impact your plan(s).

¹ The remedial amendment deadline for SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 amendments is December 31, 2026, for qualified plans that are not governmental or applicable collectively bargained plans and 403(b) plans not maintained by a public school. The deadline is December 31, 2028, for qualified applicable collectively bargained plans and applicable collectively bargained 403(b) plans of tax-exempt organizations, and December 31, 2029, for qualified governmental plans and 403(b) plans maintained by a public school.

² Our summary of the IRS proposed regulations on automatic enrollment issued on January 14, 2025, can be found here.

³ Our summary of the IRS proposed regulations on long-term part-time employees issued on November 27, 2023, can be found here.

⁴ Our summary of the IRS proposed regulations on required minimum distributions issued on July 19, 2024, can be found here.