The Secure Act of 2019 and its 2022 proposed regulations (collectively, SECURE) have dramatically altered estate planning for retirement benefits.

SECURE's implications are numerous, and this article does not attempt to address them comprehensively. Instead, this article is limited to analysis of two common estate planning scenarios: (1) designating a trust for spouse as beneficiary of retirement benefits; and (2) designating a trust for the benefit of an adult child. Special rules apply to beneficiaries who are minors, disabled or chronically ill, or less than 10 years younger than the participant. For simplicity, these rules are not covered in this article, and likewise neither Roth IRA planning nor charitable remainder trust planning is addressed.