SECURE Act: Workplace Retirement Plans Impact & Analysis

Despite the divisiveness in our government right now, they were able to get things together and bring us the SECURE Act, arguably the most significant retirement legislation in over a decade. Today, my guest & I, Bob Holcomb, Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at Empower Retirement, discuss how this came back from the dead, this significance for employers and employees, and much more. We dive into new retirement income provisions, multiple employer plans, the new concept of a long-term part-time employee, changes to required minimum distributions, and the introduction of birth and adoption distribution provisions. Also, Bob and I debate the effectiveness or impact some of these changes could have. As we wrap-up, we take a look into the future of what could be coming down the road and how the 2020 election could impact retirement plans. Finally, there is a great bonus question on the website for this week that Bob answers. Check that out at 401kfridays.com/secure.  Before we get started, if you have been enjoying the podcast, please take 30 seconds and leave us a rating and review. The easiest thing to do is go to Apple Podcasts, search "401(k) Fridays", scroll to the ratings and review section and tap on that, select a star rating, leave a short review or comment and hit submit. Thanks in advance, this goes a long way to help more people discover the podcast. Guest Bio Robert A. Holcomb, is Vice President of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for Empower Retirement.  In his role, he oversees retirement policy efforts on behalf of Empower. In addition, he interprets pension-related legislation and regulations, consults with clients and internal partners on legislative and regulatory issues, and represents the organization in advocacy groups.  Bob joined the organization in 1991 and has been in the retirement services industry for 30 years, serving in client management, operations, technical consulting and sales support roles. Bob is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law.  401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 175 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!