On December 20, 2019, Congress passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the "SECURE Act"), which codifies sweeping changes to rules governing distributions from your qualified retirement plan (such as a 401(k)) or IRA (together referred to as "retirement accounts"). The SECURE Act, which became effective on January 1, 2020, affects not only distributions during your lifetime, but also the way in which your retirement assets are distributed to your beneficiaries after your death.