Retirement Savings Check: What You Need to Know Now

The SECURE Act 2.0 quietly changed the retirement planning rules in a big way. Most people either assume it only affects their retirement years or don’t realize it affects them at all. But here’s the truth: these changes directly impact how your loved ones inherit your retirement accounts, how quickly they must withdraw the funds, and how much they’ll lose to taxes if planning isn’t updated now. Left unaddressed, the SECURE Act 2.0 can shrink what you intended to leave behind fast.

In this article, I’ll walk you through what actually changed, how the new rules affect your beneficiaries, the common mistakes families make because of outdated planning, and how a well-designed estate plan with regular reviews can protect your loved ones from unnecessary taxes, delays, and stress when they need support the most.

Let’s break this down in plain English so you can make smart, confident decisions for the people you love without the overwhelm.

How the SECURE Act 2.0 Can Shrink (or Save) Your Family’s Inheritance

Before we get into the weeds, here’s the key thing to know: retirement accounts play by a completely different set of rules than the rest of your assets. Taxes, timelines, and required withdrawals are tightly regulated and when Congress changes those rules, your family’s inheritance can shift in big ways. Sometimes that’s helpful. Sometimes it’s a costly surprise.

The SECURE Act 2.0, passed in 2022, made sweeping updates to the original SECURE Act of 2019. Many of these changes directly affect who benefits from your retirement accounts and how fast your beneficiaries are forced to take the money out. In fact, the House Ways & Means Committee called it “the most significant expansion of retirement savings opportunities in more than 15 years.”

But here’s the catch: opportunity only works if your estate plan actually matches the current law. That’s where most families get tripped up especially when plans were created years ago under rules that no longer apply.

As you’ll see, failing to update your plan can mean higher taxes for your loved ones, accelerated drain of retirement accounts, and unnecessary confusion layered on top of an already hard time.

Important Updates That Affect Your Loved Ones

The SECURE Act 2.0 made a lot of changes. But let’s skip the noise and focus on the updates that truly affect your money, your kids, and your legacy.

1. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs Start Later… But Don’t Relax Yet)

The age at which you must start taking money out of your traditional IRA or 401(k) has been pushed back:

• Age 73 if you were born between 1951–1959

• Age 75 if you were born in 1960 or later

On the surface, this sounds great more time for your investments to grow. And it can be great. But here’s the catch:

Delaying RMDs often means larger account balances later, which can trigger larger required withdrawals and potentially much bigger tax bills for your beneficiaries.

Why this matters:
A bigger account doesn’t always mean a bigger inheritance. Without smart tax planning, your loved ones could inherit a hefty tax problem instead of the gift you intended.

2. The 10-Year Rule Is Still Alive and Kicking

The original SECURE Act requires most beneficiaries who inherit a retirement account to empty it within 10 years. SECURE Act 2.0 did not change that rule.

So if your child (or another loved one) inherits your IRA or 401(k), they may be forced to take withdrawals faster than expected often during their peak earning years.

Why this matters:
Forced, accelerated withdrawals can push beneficiaries into higher tax brackets. Translation? A meaningful chunk of what you planned to leave them goes straight to taxes.

3. Trusts as Retirement Account Beneficiaries: Where Good Intentions Go Wrong

Many people name a trust as the beneficiary of their retirement accounts to create control or protection. Totally reasonable.
But under the SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0, outdated trust language can backfire hard.

Older trusts may unintentionally:

• Trigger immediate taxation

• Prevent access to funds when beneficiaries actually need them

• Force distributions that directly conflict with your intentions

This is now one of the most common and expensive planning mistakes we see.

Why this matters:
If your trust was drafted before 2020 (and honestly, even before 2023), there’s a real chance it no longer works the way you think it does. Your family could inherit a tax mess instead of a legacy.

A Real-World Example (This Happens More Than You’d Think)

Before 2020, many trusts were written to distribute retirement money slowly just a little each year based on IRS “required minimum distributions.” That approach made perfect sense at the time.

But the law changed.

Now, for most beneficiaries, there is no required annual distribution during the first nine years.

Here’s the problem:
If your trust says the trustee can only distribute “the required amount each year,” and there is no required amount, the trustee’s hands are tied.

So what happens?

• Years 1–9: No distributions allowed

• Year 10: The entire account must be emptied at once

Instead of manageable income over time, your child gets hit with a massive, one-year tax bill, potentially losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to taxes on money you spent a lifetime building.

The Real Impact on Your Family

You may be spotting the pattern by now: SECURE Act 2.0 helps you during your lifetime, but it often shifts complexity, responsibility, and tax exposure onto the people you leave behind.

That’s exactly why real estate planning isn’t just about having documents in place. It’s about creating clarity in real life for the people you love most.

Because even small planning gaps can leave your family:

• Tied up in court

• Paying taxes that could have been avoided

• Unsure how to access accounts or who’s in charge

• Dealing with delays that create unnecessary financial stress

And all of this tends to happen at the worst possible time when they’re grieving and need support, not homework.

Unless there’s a comprehensive plan in place and a trusted advisor who already knows your family, your assets, and your wishes, your loved ones are left to figure it out on their own. And that’s exactly what good planning is meant to prevent.

Why Now Is the Right Time

When federal law changes, your estate plan has to change with it. That’s especially true for retirement accounts, which often make up a large share of a family’s wealth.

Most estate plans don’t fail because they were poorly drafted; they fail because they were never updated. SECURE Act 2.0 raised the stakes even higher. A plan that was solid just a few years ago may no longer do what you think it does today.

When we work together, I help you:

• Review and update your retirement account beneficiaries

• Spot tax traps created by the 10-year rule

• Modernize trust provisions so they work under current law

• Align every account with your actual goals (not outdated assumptions)

• Create a clear, complete, and current asset inventory

• Make sure your loved ones know exactly what to do and who to call when something happens

You don’t have to hope your plan will work. You can know it will.

How Comprehensive Planning Protects Families After SECURE Act 2.0

Traditional estate planning usually stops once the documents are signed. A comprehensive plan goes much further.

It includes:

• A clear, current inventory of everything you own

• Beneficiary coordination across all accounts (so nothing works against itself)

• Ongoing reviews every three years or sooner when the law changes

• A trusted advisor your family already knows and can turn to when something happens

• Real support for your loved ones after your death, so they’re not left overwhelmed or guessing

These are the protections that keep your family out of court, out of conflict, and out of unnecessary tax trouble.

SECURE Act 2.0 is simply the latest reminder that the law will keep changing. And when it does, your plan has to change with it.

A static plan eventually fails.

A relationship-based plan works especially when your loved ones need it most.

Next Steps

If you want to be sure SECURE Act 2.0 doesn’t create unnecessary financial or emotional stress for the people you love, the best place to start is an Estate Planning Session.

During this session, we’ll get clear on what you own, how the current law impacts your family, and what steps will ensure everything works the way you actually intend not just on paper.

Your family deserves clarity and certainty, not confusion or surprises.

Click below to schedule your 15-minute discovery call and learn how I can support you and your family: https://pages.20westlegal.com/schedule/meeting

This article is a service of 20WestLegal LLC. We don't just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death for yourself and the people you love. That's why we offer a Planning Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you've ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office in Sudbury, Massachusetts today to schedule an Estate Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge.

The content is sourced from Personal Family Lawyer® for use by Personal Family Lawyer® firms, a source believed to be providing accurate information. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking legal advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this educational material.