Q1 2025 Newsletter
April 10, 2025
As we wrap up the first quarter of 2025, the team at Primark Benefits has been hard at work for our clients, keeping their retirement plans in compliance.
At the same time, we've also been keeping you informed on the latest retirement plan developments, compliance updates, and strategic best practices. In case you missed any of our recent articles, here’s a quick recap of the topics we covered this quarter—from new SECURE 2.0 provisions to record retention strategies and ROTH account considerations.
Here's What You Need to Know
The ROTH Retirement Account, named for Senator William Roth, was introduced as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. The main feature of a ROTH account is that contributions are made with post-tax dollars as opposed to pre-tax; this means that any withdrawals, including earnings on the investments, are tax-free in retirement. This advantage can be particularly attractive for those individuals who anticipate being in a higher tax bracket later in life. However, this needs to be weighed against the uncertainty about whether and for how long this tax status will be truly protected. Can you safely invest in a ROTH account and really expect tax-free withdrawals ten, twenty, or thirty years down the line?
How Long Do I Need to Keep All of This Paperwork? Today, we’re going to share our position on what may seem to be a black-and-white (if not also mundane) retirement plan-related topic - that of record retention. It’s one that we’ve been asked about hundreds of times, and understandably so: For one thing, it involves a lot of files, whether hard copy or electronic. Also, the requirements and guidelines from various government agencies can often seem to conflict. Most importantly, though, it has gotten plenty of well-meaning plan sponsors into some hot water, both financially and legally. There have been numerous instances when it turned out the guidelines weren’t enough to protect employers from costly legal disputes. Read on to find out more.
Primark Benefits is continually monitoring legislative updates. As such, we are sharing this reminder about the “super catch-up" contributions available under The SECURE 2.0 Act, in effect as of the start of 2025.
Most business owners focus most of their attention on revenue and growth, thinking about taxes only when necessary. Yet the structure of a business plays a pivotal role in retirement planning, influencing contribution limits, deductions, and long-term outcomes. Understanding the relationship between entity type and retirement planning is critical to maximizing contributions, deductions, and long-term retirement income.
For many employers, payroll is the operational backbone of the organization. It touches compensation, taxes, benefits, and reporting—so it’s understandable why retirement plans are often bundled there as well. If payroll providers offer a 401(k) solution, it can feel efficient to keep everything under one roof. But efficiency in payroll processing is not the same as effectiveness in retirement plan administration. As retirement plan regulations grow more complex—particularly under SECURE 2.0—many plan sponsors are discovering that payroll platforms simply weren’t designed to handle the interpretive, judgment-based responsibilities required to administer a qualified retirement plan.
It’s Not Just You: 2026 Feels More Complicated for Retirement Plans, because It IS More Complicated!
If administering a retirement plan feels more complicated than it used to, you’re not imagining it. The changes taking effect in 2026 are a continuation of several years of phased-in legislation, inflation adjustments, and regulatory guidance, much of it stemming from the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Add in changes that took effect in 2024 and 2025, and the result is a retirement plan environment with more moving parts than many employers and participants are equipped to manage. Here’s what’s changing, and why 2026 stands out.