The Secure 2.0 Act became law in 2022 and provided ways to help more people save for retirement.
The legislation gave employers a slew of new retirement plan options, but not every provision is being utilized. Vanguard has been tracking how employers adopt the provisions.
According to its findings, employers are prioritizing plans that help workers build long-term retirement savings but taking a slower approach to other features.
Good news: Catch-up contributions
The expanded catch-up contribution option has been a success. This allows employers to raise the catch-up limit for participants ages 60 to 63 from the standard $7,500 cap to $11,250.
By the end of 2025, 91% of plans had opted in to the higher limit, according to Vanguard.
Workers are taking advantage, too. Among participants ages 60 to 63 in plans offering the enhanced feature, 21% maxed out their elective deferrals at $23,500, and more than 90% of those maximizers also made catch-up contributions.
About a quarter of catch-up savers directed some of their contributions to Roth accounts, suggesting growing interest in tax diversification strategies.
Bad news: Emergency savings
Provisions designed to help workers tap their retirement funds during financial emergencies have gained little traction so far.
Just 4% of plans offered emergency expense withdrawals, which allow participants to access up to $1,000 per year penalty-free for unexpected needs. Only 0.4% of participants actually used the feature.
Self-certification for hardship withdrawals, which eliminates paperwork by letting participants attest they meet Internal Revenue Service requirements, fared worse at just 3% of plans.
Availability for domestic abuse withdrawals, a new category allowing victims to take out the lesser of $10,000 or 50% of their vested balance without penalty, sat at 6% of plans. Usage remained low at 0.1% of participants.
Bad news: Portability and disaster provisions
Automatic portability reached 7% adoption by the end of 2025. This feature transfers small retirement balances to a worker’s new employer plan when they change jobs rather than letting those dollars get stranded or rolled into higher-fee individual retirement accounts.
Qualified disaster recovery distributions saw stronger uptake at 16% of plans. These allow participants affected by federally declared disasters to withdraw up to $22,000 penalty-free and repay over three years. Still, just 0.2% of participants had actually tapped this option.
What the provisions mean for your retirement
If you’re between 60 and 63, there’s a good chance your employer has already enabled the enhanced catch-up contribution option. It’s worth checking whether you can contribute up to $11,250 in catch-up funds on top of the standard deferral limit.
For workers hoping to use some of the newer emergency access features, the odds are lower that your plan offers them. However, these adoption rates could shift as more plan sponsors assess demand.
Learn more about making the most of your post-work years in “6 Secrets to a Happy Retirement, According to Experts.”
