Retirement savings incentives are changing rapidly. But while two legislative packages — the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 — created new provisions to help Americans boost their nest eggs, they also left some ideas on the cutting-room floor.
Those elements — call them SECURE 3.0 — could potentially help millions of savers stockpile more amid what economists call a retirement crisis. According to one study by the Federal Reserve, only 36% of Americans say their retirement savings are on track; some 27% have no savings at all. And among those who have already retired, most have defined-contribution plans like 401(k)s, which research shows tend to be spent down faster than the pensions of yesteryear.
“SECURE 1 took a step forward; SECURE 2 took another step forward,” said Paul Richman, the chief political affairs officer at the Insured Retirement Institute (known as IRI). “But there’s still a lot more that can be done and should be done.”
With 2019’s Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act and last December’s SECURE 2.0 package now law, here are four issues facing policymakers going forward: