How the CARES Act and SECURE Act Might Affect You

May 14, 2020 - 4 minutes read

As we navigate these times, one thing remains constant, our commitment to you. We wanted to share two recent Acts that have been passed and some key points that may affect you or someone you know.

CARES Act

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27. It offers relief for individuals, businesses, and state and local governments facing financial pressures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the most noteworthy impacts of the provision include:

RMDs waived for 2020

The CARES Act includes a temporary waiver for both:

2020 required minimum distributions (RMDs), including ones from IRAs, inherited IRAs, and employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k) plans.

2019 RMDs due by April 1, 2020, for individuals who turned 70½ last year and didn’t take the RMD before January 1, 2020.

What you should know
Although some individuals may have already taken their RMD for 2020, as a result of the CARES Act, many people may be able to rollover those distributions under the 60-day rollover rule.

Rolling back an RMD
Rollovers are generally required to be made within 60 days of the distribution, but the IRS has extended the 60-day rollover deadline to July 15, 2020, for distributions, including RMDs, for which the 60-day rollover deadline would’ve fallen between April 1, 2020, and July 15, 2020.

As a result of this extension, individuals who received an RMD between February 1, 2020, and May 15, 2020, likely have until July 15, 2020, to complete the rollover. If you took a January distribution, unfortunately it doesn’t fall within the extended rollover window.

Non-Coronavirus-related distributions taken in 2020:

January 1- January 31: Ineligible for rollover extension due to expired 60-day window.

February 1- May 15: Extension applies. Eligible for rollover through July 15. Distributions taken during this time allows for an extension beyond the traditional 60-day window.

May 16 and onward: Extension does not apply. Subject to traditional 60-day window.

Keep in mind that:

Distributions from IRAs are also subject to 1 rollover per 365 days. You can find more information about rollover rules at irs.gov.

IRS rules don’t permit distributions from inherited IRAs to be rolled over.

The IRS may issue additional rollover guidance in the future.

Coronavirus-related 2020 distributions are not eligible for rollover, but can be repaid over a three-year period

SECURE Act

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act became law on December 20, 2019 and includes provisions which have made significant impacts to some retirement accounts.

Key changes include:

Removal of the prohibition on contributions to traditional IRAs by individuals with earned income who have reached age 70 ½.

Increasing the age for required minimum distributions (RMDs) for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) from 70 ½ to 72 for individuals turning 70 ½ as of January 1, 2020 or later.

We are here to assist you every step of the way, if you have any questions regarding how either of these Acts may impact you or about your portfolios in general, please reach out to us and we’ll look forward to connecting with you. As we often do when we pass along information concerning personal finances, we encourage coordinating it with your CPA.

The KKRA Team