The Oklahoman

NAME CHANGE

- Paula Burkes, Business writer

Bank2 on Tuesday officially changed its name to Chickasaw Community Bank

Congress has passed a budget bill containing the SECURE Act — otherwise known as “Securing Every Community for Retirement Enhancemen­t Act.” After being signed by the president, the SECURE Act will affect many families' personal financial and retirement planning. What is the SECURE Act?

The SECURE Act is a new retirement law containing dozens of provisions affecting 401(k)s, annuities, IRAs and taxes. The bipartisan bill will change how individual­s and families navigate financial and estate planning. Most provisions in the law took effect Jan. 1.

What does the SECURE Act do? The SECURE Act has over 29 provisions, but the most relevant provisions are that SECURE:

• Will push back the age for required minimum distribut i ons ( “RMDs”) f rom 70 1/2 to 72. This means retirement account owners will not have to start their required minimum distributi­ons until age 72.

• Will alow contributi­ons to traditiona­l IRAs after age 701/2. Essentiall­y, the law removes the age limit at which an individual can contribute to a traditiona­l IRA.

•Will make it easier for small businesses to setup 401(k)s by increasing the cap under which they can automatica­lly enroll workers in “safe harbor” retirement plans, from 10% of wages to 15%.

• Will provide a maximum tax credit of $500 per year to employers who create a 401(k) or SIMPLE IRA with automatic enrollment.

• Will permit penalty-free withdrawal­s of $5,000 from 401(k) accounts to defray the costs of having or adopting a child.

•Will allow the withdrawal of up to $10,000 from Section 529 Plans to repay student loans.

Are there any negative aspects of the SECURE ACT?

What Congress give th, Congress take th away. In order to pay for some of its benefits, there is one particular provision that may prove costly to some families.

Prior to SECURE, an individual could name a nonspouse beneficiar­y (kids or grandkids) to inherit their IRA and have disburseme­nts from the IRA paid out over such beneficiar­y's lifetime. This was known as a “Stretch IRA.” It minimized the impact of the IRA income on the tax obligation of the beneficiar­y.

SECURE eliminates the Stretch IRA technique, in most cases, by requiring a full payout of the inherited IRA within 10 years of the death of the original account-holder. The eliminatio­n of the Stretch IRA should raise an estimated $15.7 billion in additional tax revenue.

 ??  ?? Stephen R. Pitcock is an estate planning attorney with Hall Estill.
Stephen R. Pitcock is an estate planning attorney with Hall Estill.

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