Retirement Plan Rules That May Help You Save in 2026

Lost retirement plan database: When people leave a job, they may lose track of their retirement accounts if they don’t roll the money over into a new plan. SECURE 2.0 directed the U.S. Labor Department to create the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database to help people find and claim their money.

The portal, launched in late 2024, pulls information on retirement accounts associated with past employers and provides contact information for the plan administrators. To use the database, you’ll need to create an account with Login.gov, a secure sign-in service for federal agencies, and provide proof of identity — the site will walk you through the process.

Workplace emergency savings: In 2025, 6 percent of workers took hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts, shrinking their nest egg to cover emergency expenses, according to data from Vanguard, one of the biggest plan providers. That’s up from about 2 percent in 2021.

SECURE 2.0 may help workers avoid having to choose between immediate needs and future financial security by enabling employers to offer them self-funded emergency savings accounts. The provision only applies to emergency accounts directly linked to an employee’s retirement plan.

Employers can automatically enroll qualifying workers (those who made less than $160,000 in 2025) in these rainy-day accounts and direct up to 3 percent of their salary into them. Employees can choose to opt out. The employer can set a cap of up to $2,500 for the emergency fund; contributions above that amount can be directed into the worker’s retirement account.

More penalty-free early withdrawals: Early (pre-age 59½) withdrawals from retirement accounts typically carry a 10 percent penalty tax (on top of regular taxes on the amount you take out). There are limited circumstances in which you can avoid the penalty. SECURE 2.0 added to the list, eliminating the extra tax on early withdrawals if:

• You are terminally ill.
• You take up to $22,000 for losses related to a federally declared disaster. Regular income taxes on such a withdrawal can be spread over three years. The rules are retroactive to cover disasters occurring on or after Jan. 26, 2021.
• You have “unforeseeable or immediate” financial needs due to a personal or family emergency. In this case, you can take up to $1,000 from a tax-deferred retirement account such as a traditional IRA or a 401(k) without paying the penalty.

Withdrawals in this third category are limited to one a year, and you would not be able to make another for three years — unless you elect to treat the distribution as a loan from your account. In that case, you would have to repay the money within three years and could make another emergency withdrawal once you have done so. You will not owe any taxes on the money if you repay within three years.

Retirement help for those with student debt: People who have difficulty socking away money for retirement because they’re paying off student loans may still take advantage of an employer matching benefit. SECURE 2.0 allows employers to make matching contributions to an employee’s retirement account when the worker makes a payment on a student loan. The rule applies to 401(k)s, 403(b)s and SIMPLE IRAs.

Tax-free withdrawal of employer match contributions: Previously, if your company offered a traditional 401(k) with an employer match, taxes on the matching funds would be deferred until you withdrew the money from the account in retirement. Now, plan administrators can give employees the option to have the matching contributions taxed in the year they are made, as with Roth 401(k)s. That way, those employer contributions are tax-free when you withdraw them in retirement.

Rules for RMDs: Once you reach a certain age, federal law mandates annual minimum withdrawals from most types of tax-deferred retirement accounts. The original SECURE Act raised the age at which you must start taking these reqired minimum distributions (RMDs) from 70½ to 72; SECURE 2.0 raised it again, to 73, effective in 2023.

SECURE 2.0 ushered in these additional RMD changes:

• The excise tax for failing to take the full distribution was reduced. Up to 2023, it was 50 percent of the difference between the amount you were supposed to take out and what you did take. Now, it’s 25 percent, and that can be cut to 10 percent if you act quickly to make up the missing amount.
• Owners of Roth 401(k) and 403(b) plans are now exempt from having to take annual minimum distributions from those accounts.
• If you are a surviving spouse, you can now elect to be treated as your late partner would have been for RMD purposes. Depending on your and your late spouse’s ages and financial circumstances, this could have advantages compared with other account options (such as taking it as an inheritance or a rollover into your own IRA) in terms of when you must start taking distributions and how they are calculated.

Changes still to come

Federal match for retirement contributions: To further incentivize retirement saving by low- and middle-income Americans, the federal government will match up to 50 percent of their retirement plan contributions of up to $2,000 (thus, the match can be up to $1,000) and deposit the money into the saver’s retirement plan, starting with the 2027 tax year.

This Saver’s Match will phase out at higher income levels. Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $20,500 ($41,000 for a married couple filing jointly) will be eligible to get the full 50 percent. Those making up to $35,500 (individual) or $71,000 (couple) can get a reduced match. After 2027 the limits will be subject to cost-of-living increases.

The Saver’s Match enhances the existing Saver’s Credit, a nonrefundable tax credit available to low- and middle-income people who contribute to qualified retirement plans. Like the future Saver’s Match, the credit can be worth up to $1,000, depending on the size of the retirement plan contribution. Unlike the current credit, the match will be paid directly into the taxpayer’s retirement account rather than as a tax refund, and it will be refundable, meaning it can turn a tax bill into a refund.

RMD age increases again: After a decade at 73, the age at which you must start taking required minimum distributions will go up again in 2033, to age 75.