Starting in 2026, a new rule from the Biden-era Secure 2.0 Act will limit how some workers can make retirement contributions.
The new rule is raising serious concerns not just for the upcoming year, but regarding long term precedent and implications for hardworking Americans.
The Secure 2.0 Act, introduced by one of the most left-wing members of Congress and signed into law by then-President Joe Biden, was passed in 2022 with the stated goal of helping Americans save more for retirement.
It includes automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans and expanded access for part-time workers. But one part of the law is especially controversial: changes to how "high-income earners" can make catch-up contributions to their retirement accounts.
Until now, workers aged 50-plus could choose between contributing to a traditional 401(k) (which lowers their taxable income now) or a Roth 401(k) (which is taxed now but grows tax-free).
Starting in 2026, workers earning $145,000 or more will be forced to use Roth-style accounts for catch-up contributions — meaning they'll pay taxes upfront whether they want to or not.
This Secure 2.0 provision removes choice and seems more like a quick way for the government to collect taxes than a real plan to help retirees.
Calling someone making $145,000 a "high earner" also feels out of touch, especially with how much inflation has increased costs in recent years.
People nearing retirement — many of whom have worked hard, paid taxes, raised families, and planned carefully — should not be penalized now when they need flexibility the most.
This rule isn't just about taxes — it's about control.
It shows how the government is slowly limiting Americans' ability to decide how to save for their future, all because of its own poor budgeting; another consequence of nearly a hundred years of the left's spending policies.
Unlike this approach, previous administrations (like President Trump's) trusted the people more — cutting taxes and growing the economy instead of reaching into pockets of hardworking Americans.
In the end, Americans should have the freedom to choose how to invest for retirement.
The Secure 2.0 Act’s catch-up rule takes that freedom away — and the people deserve to get it back.
This Secure 2.0 Act Development also represents a significant milestone in that it marks the government taking away a choice to citizens that had previously been available under current retirement savings provisions.
The chances of something similar happening in the years ahead are even greater with the out of control fiscal insanity perpetuated by the left in Congress and more than a few who call themselves conservatives.
Expect the government to try and get its hands on whatever they can to satisfy their short term spending thrills, especially regarding another program, the Social Security Ponzi scheme.
Our current debt is so out-of-control that we can barely pay the interest alone on it.
The principal on the debt continues to raise daily.
The interest alone is on course to become the largest portion of the national budget.
And with Social Security starting to massively wane (only 80% of the program is funded after the year 2033), monies will be needed for that program as well.
The left-wing flubbed Social Security and they flubbed catch up contribution choices.
With such fiscal irresponsibility already upon us, and expected to get only worse, future leftist administrations will continue to come after our retirements and other sources of income.
(Editor's Note: Related columns may be found here, and here.)
(The views expressed in the preceding article are those of the author and not any government agency.)
Larry Provost has written for Townhall, Fox News, The Baltic Times and InFocus (Jewish Policy Center) and has appeared on several television outlets, including "FOX News @Night with Shannon Bream." He holds degrees from several colleges and is a veteran of the World Trade Center search and rescue, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He and his wife are adoptive parents. Read more Larry Provost reports — Here.
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