Since SECURE 2.0 legislation took effect in January 2023, the landmark law was set to open up retirement savings to millions more of Americans by expanding auto-enrollment, providing emergency savings, offering student loan/employer match contributions and making 401(k) plans more accessible for part-time workers. Eighteen months later, let's take a look at how SECURE 2.0 is (and isn't) working for companies and their employees.

We talked to ADP's VP of Retirement Services Ron Ulrich for his specific insights on the law overall and how effective the rollout has been in 2024. He has shed insight how the legislation is designed to "close the retirement savings gap" and whether or not that has been a reality since it officially went into effect at the beginning of this year.

Q: How effective has SECURE 2.0 since it went into effect about 18 months ago?

A: It's hard to say for sure how impactful it's been so far overall, but definitely one of the big "success stories" when it comes to the SECURE 2.0 rollout has really been enhanced tax credits. This creates even more tax incentives for small organizations, to create a plan for their employees. The enhanced tax credits allow employers to start up their own plans and use the tax credits to offset certain plan related costs.. We've also seen the "student loan matching" provision receive high interest and adoption rates from plan sponsors. We believe this plan feature will become a useful tool, specifically for talent attraction and retention in a crowded labor market. Again, however, I'd caution that SECURE 2.0's full impact is still unfolding as more provisions take effect​.