# 2025-00501: Automatic Enrollment Requirements Under Section 414A 2025-00501, Automatic Enrollment Requirements Under Section 414A, is a Federal Register proposed rule from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-14, effective 2025-01-01; deemed significant under Executive Order 12866; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00501 - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2025-00501 - Title: Automatic Enrollment Requirements Under Section 414A - Type: Proposed Rule - Agencies: unknown - Citation: unknown - Published: 2025-01-14 - Effective: 2025-01-01 - Comments close: not stated - Significant: yes (OIRA_API) - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: 1545-BR08 - Last updated: 2026-11-04 ## Summary Starting soon, certain retirement plans must automatically enroll workers thanks to new rules from the SECURE 2.0 Act. This affects employers, employees, and plan managers by making saving for retirement easier and more automatic. Comments on these rules are open until March 17, 2025, with a public hearing on April 8, so get ready to save smarter and maybe speak up! ## Abstract This document sets forth proposed regulations that would provide guidance with respect to the automatic enrollment requirements that apply to certain retirement plans. The proposed regulations reflect statutory changes made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 requiring that certain cash or deferred arrangements and salary reduction agreements be eligible automatic contribution arrangements that satisfy additional specified requirements. The proposed regulations would affect participants in, beneficiaries of, employers maintaining, and administrators of certain retirement plans that include cash or deferred arrangements or annuity contracts purchased under salary reduction agreements and other retirement plans that include eligible automatic contribution arrangements. This document also provides notice of a public hearing. ## Effects PRIA read - Mandatory Auto‑Enrollment for Certain Plans: benefit, medium. For plan years beginning after December 31, 2024, certain cash-or-deferred arrangements (CODAs) and salary-reduction agreements must satisfy the new Section 414A automatic enrollment rules and be eligible automatic contribution arrangements (EACAs). This change affects participants, beneficiaries,… - 90‑Day Permissive Withdrawal Right: benefit, medium. Under the rules, employees who are automatically enrolled in an EACA may elect a permissive withdrawal of default elective contributions (and attributable earnings) if the election is made within 90 days after the first default elective contribution. The withdrawal is includible in gross income for… - Minimum Defaults and Automatic Raises: mixed, high. The proposed rules require that an EACA's initial default contribution for an employee be a uniform percentage between at least 3% and not more than 10%. The default must increase by one percentage point for each plan year after each completed year of participation until it reaches at least 10%, an… - Default Investments Must Use QDIA Rules: benefit, medium. Amounts contributed under an EACA for which a participant makes no investment election must be invested in accordance with the qualified default investment alternative rules at 29 CFR 2550.404c-5 (or any successor regulations). - Who Is Exempt From Auto‑Enrollment Rules: cost, medium. Section 414A does not apply to: SIMPLE 401(k) plans; governmental plans and church plans; qualified CODAs or 403(b) plans established before December 29, 2022; plans maintained by a new business while the employer (and any predecessor) has been in existence for less than 3 years (measured as of the… - EACAs Must Cover Eligible Part‑Time Employees: benefit, low. A plan satisfies Section 414A only if its EACA covers all employees who are eligible to elect contributions under the plan, including long‑term, part‑time employees described in section 401(k)(15) of the Code or section 202(c) of ERISA. - Existing Affirmative Elections Preserved: benefit, low. The proposed rules permit an EACA to not apply the default election to any employee who, on the date the plan is first required to satisfy the automatic enrollment requirements, had an affirmative election in effect to have contributions made (in a specified amount or percentage) or not have contri… ## Related documents - [2026-22496](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22496): Airworthiness Directives; Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, 2026-11-04 - [2026-22450](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22450): Update and Clarification of the Passenger Facility Charge Regulations, 2026-11-04 - [2026-22506](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22506): Guidance on Eligible Investments for Trump Accounts; Hearing, 2026-11-04 - [2026-22495](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22495): Large-Bank Deposit Insurance Determination Modernization, 2026-11-04 - [2026-22464](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22464): Amendment of Domestic Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal Airways V-44, V-170, and V-312; Eastern United States, 2026-11-04 - [2026-22396](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22396): Pipeline Safety: Amendments to Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities, 2026-11-03 ## Sources - [2025-00501 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/14/2025-00501/automatic-enrollment-requirements-under-section-414a) - [2025-00501 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-14/pdf/2025-00501.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2025-00467, Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Threatened Status for the Florid…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00467) - [Next: 2025-00537, Strengthening Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a Safety Net an…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00537) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00501 (as of 2026-11-04).