<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSECURE 2.0 brings real operational changes to retirement plans. Auditors who wait until year-end to address them will find themselves behind. Provisions phase in over multiple years and do not apply uniformly across plan types, so preparation has to start well before fieldwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Know What Provision Applies to Each Client <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
The first step is understanding which provisions affect which plans. Teams should sit down with management early, review any plan amendments, and confirm whether payroll systems and third-party administrators have actually made the required updates, not just whether they intend to. The areas most likely to require attention are automatic enrollment requirements, Roth catch-up rules for higher earners, the expanded catch-up limits for participants between ages 60 and 63, student loan matching contributions, updated RMD age thresholds, and hardship withdrawal self-certification procedures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Revisit Risk Assessments <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Most of the risk introduced by SECURE 2.0 is operational, not presentational. The concern is whether systems are correctly identifying eligible participants, applying the right contribution limits, and classifying deferrals properly. Where processes run through automation, IT general controls and interface controls deserve a closer look than they may have received in prior years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Go Deeper on Internal Controls <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Control evaluation needs more substance this cycle. That means asking how management tracks payroll system changes, how income thresholds are verified for Roth catch-up purposes, what oversight exists for student loan matching certifications, and whether hardship withdrawals go through any post-approval review. For plans that rely on third-party administrators, auditors need to carefully work through SOC 1 reports and confirm that plan sponsors are actually carrying out their complementary responsibilities, not just that those responsibilities are described on paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Update Audit Programs and Get in Front of Clients <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Standard workpapers will likely need new steps to cover age-based eligibility testing, escalation percentage verification, and payroll-to-plan reconciliation. More importantly, client conversations should happen early. Many plan sponsors are still working through what SECURE 2.0 requires of them operationally, and some have not fully connected the regulatory changes to their internal processes. Identifying gaps before year-end is far less disruptive than finding them during fieldwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Keep Documentation Tight <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Regulatory scrutiny around benefit plan audits is not going away. Risk assessments, control testing conclusions, and management representations should all be documented in a way that clearly supports the conclusions reached, not just checks a box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Conclusion <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAs the regulatory and professional environment continually evolves, auditors must remain flexible in their approach to employee benefit plan audit<\/strong> and should always be informed about new standards, how to interpret any new requirements that are being issued, and how to incorporate any new developments into the plan for conducting an audit and the actual audit itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAuditors need to use their professional judgment to exercise flexibility with regards to any evolving regulatory and professional risks, the increasing complexity of business operations. The potential need to modify the methodologies used to perform audits on employee benefit plans and to deliver reliable assurance to the participants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By thinking ahead and proactively modifying the way that they perform audits on employee benefit plans, auditors will continue to provide an effective audit that meets the requirements identified by various sources of external review and oversight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) was first introduced in 2019 as a law that made it easier for Americans to save for retirement. Phase 2 of SECURE, while adding 90 new provisions to the original, introduces significant operational and compliance changes in retirement plans. The new rules, effective under SECURE 2.0 2026 changes, has led to increased pressure on auditors. This includes materially affecting audit scope, risk assessment, and documentation standards. All this in a bid to minimize enforcement risk related to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[128,127,129,125,126],"class_list":["post-6050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-audit","tag-401k-plan-compliance","tag-employee-benefit-plan-audit","tag-retirement-plan-audit-2026","tag-secure-2-0-act","tag-secure-2-0-employer-audits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6050"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6053,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6050\/revisions\/6053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acobloom.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}