Tens of millions of lower-income retirement savers could soon get up to $1,000 in matching contributions toward their nest eggs each year — but they’ll need financial advisors’ help.

That’s the key takeaway from a report last month by The Morningstar Center for Retirement & Policy Studies and interviews with four experts about the “saver’s match” program, which is a provision of the sweeping 2022 Secure 2.0 retirement law that’s slated to take effect in 2027. As the replacement for the current “saver’s credit,” the match provides up to 50% in annual matching contributions from the federal government on the first $2,000 flowing into a saver’s retirement account for those with modified adjusted gross income of $35,500 or less for individuals or a maximum of $71,000 for couples.

READ MORE: The retirement savings race gap is wide and growing

Financial advisors often focus on high net worth clients whose wealth stretches far beyond that eligibility. However, they also frequently work with clients whose businesses sponsor employer retirement plans that must adjust their systems and raise workers’ awareness to enable them to fully tap into their benefits. Many firms and advisors also regularly participate in pro bono planning that aids people of any means with volunteer services. Amid persistent racial disparities in retirement savings and the continuing flow of Secure 2.0 provisions taking effect across the retail wealth management industry, professionals will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the saver’s match reaches its potential to boost millennial and Generation Z nest eggs by a mean of 12%, the report said.

“The impact is intuitively the biggest when people are changing their behavior, taking full advantage,” said Spencer Look, an associate director of retirement studies with Morningstar’s retirement center and co-author of the report. “There could be a big impact if we do that well as an industry and we implement this well.”

Advisors, employers and other parts of the 401(k) and retirement-savings ecosystem require some time to “not only to get the infrastructure, the plumbing in place,” but try to “target the potentially eligible participants in their plans and make sure they understand this is free money to them,” said Jack VanDerhei, the director of retirement studies with Morningstar’s retirement center and the other co-author of the study. For example, some of the eligible workers who aren’t currently 401(k) plan participants may need to set up their first individual retirement account in order to receive the government matching contributions. At the very least, advisors should know that the saver’s match and other parts of Secure 2.0 are “certainly going to influence the entire landscape going forward,” VanDerhei said.  

“It’s a given that, if the 2017 tax modifications are going to be salvaged in 2025, a number of retirement situations will come into play as far as taking looks at things like mandatory Rothification,” he said. “This is something that’s already been put in place and is going to be perceived by many as being a big help in terms of some of the retirement gaps going forward.”

What the study found

The current saver’s credit has reached fewer than 6% of filers due to design shortcomings like the requirement that they have an income-tax liability and a lack of knowledge among eligible savers, Morningstar’s report said. The researchers found “reasons to believe that the saver’s match will be more effective than the saver’s credit,” including the facts that savers will no longer be obligated to have federal income tax liability, that the money “will be directly deposited into their retirement accounts — a more tangible benefit that could encourage greater participation,” and that the law instructs agencies such as the Treasury Department to promote it, they wrote. 

“That said, the success of the saver’s match will largely depend on how effectively it is implemented,” Look and VanDerhei wrote. “To maximize impact, the government and retirement industry should reduce barriers and minimize savings friction wherever possible, within limits. Clear and accessible communication and education — including an awareness campaign — are also critical to ensure qualified individuals understand and use the program effectively.”

READ MORE: Secure 2.0 created emergency accounts. Will 401(k) plans use them?

The maximum match of $1,000 on top of the first $2,000 in retirement savings each year will go to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of $20,500 or less as individuals, $30,750 or lower for heads of households and as much as $41,000 among couples. For those with higher modified adjusted gross income, the matching contributions phase out at respective levels of $35,500, $53,250 and $71,000. Among millennials and Gen Z savers, roughly 49% of Hispanic households, 44% of Black Americans, 29% of white taxpayers and 26% of other racial and ethnic groups will qualify for some level of matching contributions. 

Using census data on those generations in terms of gender, marriage status and race and a simulation model called the “Morningstar Model of U.S. Retirement Outcomes,” Look and VanDerhei predicted that single women’s wealth at retirement could jump 13%, that of Black savers could grow 15% and Hispanic households could surge by 12%. Those figures assume that they get the highest matching contribution in 2027 and retire when they’re 65 years old, and that the program spurs more people to open retirement accounts and save more in order to take advantage. But even without behavioral changes, the saver’s match could boost the generations’ retirement nest eggs by 8%.

“When looking at the results from different demographic perspectives, we found that single women, non-Hispanic Black Americans and Hispanic Americans see greater benefits compared with other groups,” Look and VanDerhei wrote. “Moreover, our results show that workers in industries with a higher risk of running short of money in retirement are projected to experience a more significant increase in their retirement wealth under the new program.”

Help needed

The match necessitates “buy-in from everyone” across employees, employers, advisors, recordkeepers and governments, plus ample financial wellness education, according to Pam Hess, the executive director of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association’s Retirement Research Center, which has worked on prior research about the potential impact of the saver’s match as part of a joint effort with the Morningstar center and the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program called the Collaborative for Equitable Retirement Savings. In addition, the findings of the latest study explain why more employers are considering how they could provide emergency savings, paycheck advances or low-interest loans, she said.

“Peoiple need help meeting their short-term financial struggles,” Hess said. “Employers are coming up with other solutions to help their workforce. You put those together with the saver’s match, and it could be really meaningful.”

READ MORE: 401(k) fees are lower but still hard to understand. Planners can help

Until the policy starts in 2027, advisors could get a head start by trying to increase the number of households using the existing credit, according to Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of the nonprofit Transamerica Institute and its division Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, which found in a survey earlier this month that only 51% of workers are aware of the saver’s credit. The match “essentially reimagines and replaces and takes the saver’s credit to the next level, and the saver’s credit is available right now,” she said.

“Most people don’t wake up in the morning thinking about taxes everyday, unless it’s April 14 — the day before everything is due,” Collinson said, noting that many people also push back on the idea that they are among the “low-to-moderate income retirement savers” eligible for the credit. “The general public does not relate to that messaging, so this is where it’s so critical for financial advisors who can help to get the word out.”

More ways to get involved

On the other side of the equation, the sponsors and recordkeepers could use a nudge from the advisors to ensure they’re giving the employees the means to get the biggest match “systematically, in a way that is doable and viable,” Hess said. Right now, many employers simply don’t “have all the information they need to know who’s eligible and who’s not,” based on their modified adjusted gross income, she noted. 

“We know that engaging employees is really hard — getting that connection is increasingly hard in a noisy world,” Hess said. “First you have to figure out who qualifies, and then you have to get the dollars from the government into that account, which is not a connection that’s in place today.”

Advisors’ expertise could overcome some further barriers to participation based on the continuing problems that “there’s still a major trust issue going on any time the government gets involved” and some people may not understand how to open an IRA, VanDerhei said. They’ll also be able to point out that the match would benefit “a lot of people” to a certain extent, so it’s not just for those of the lowest means, Look said.

“Pro bono work, volunteering to help educate and talk through with people in the community who may be eligible is very, very important,” he said.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board today published a post-implementation review report on GASB Statement No. 72, Fair Value Measurement and Application.

The report, issued by GASB staff, says the fair value standard met the three PIR objectives: The standards accomplish their stated purpose, costs and benefits are in line with expectations, and the Board followed its standard-setting process. 

The report concludes that Statement 72 resolved the underlying need for the statement, which involved valuation issues from a financial reporting perspective. It also concludes that the statement was operational and its application provides financial-report users with decision-useful information such as fair value measurements used in the analysis of governmental financial information and fair value-related disclosures.

Statement 72 is eligible to undergo more extensive PIR procedures, culminating in a final report.

CohnReznick, a Top 25 Firm based in New York, is the latest accounting firm to receive a private equity investment, in this case from funds advised by Apax Partners, a private equity investment advisory firm also based in New York.

This represents the first institutional investment in CohnReznick. The firm plans to use the extra funding to accelerate its growth strategy, deliver more client services and attract talent. Apax will support CohnReznick in expanding service lines, developing technology for client solutions, entering new markets, developing talent and advancing its existing tech platform to drive further innovation and efficiency. Apax also plans to support CohnReznick in pursuing a targeted acquisitions strategy to further grow its client base. CohnReznick was the result of a merger in 2012 between JH Cohn and Reznick Group.

CohnReznick has over 5,000 global employees and more than 350 partners in 29 offices across the U.S. It earned $1.12 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2025. It ranked No. 16 on Accounting Today‘s 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms. The firm has clients in a variety of industries, including real estate, financial services and financial sponsors, private client services, consumer, manufacturing, renewable energy and government advisory.  

“Our partnership with Apax is a milestone moment in  CohnReznick’s history,” said CohnReznick CEO David Kessler in a statement Wednesday. “We have consistently delivered strong growth and cemented our position in  the mid-market, thanks to our best-in-class talent, industry expertise, and comprehensive service offerings. This strategic investment from the Apax Funds will help us continue on our growth trajectory, expanding our solutions and geographic presence to meet client needs while continuing to create exciting career growth for our people. We were impressed by the Apax team’s track record in the professional services sector and their experience in driving operational excellence in complex businesses like ours, while continuing to create a best-in-class experience for employees and clients.” 

Once the transaction closes, CohnReznick will operate in an alternative practice structure, as has become common with private equity funding of accounting firms  CohnReznick LLP, a licensed CPA firm, will be led by Kelly O’Callaghan as CEO and provide attest services. CohnReznick Advisory LLC (which will not be a licensed CPA firm) will provide tax, advisory and other non-attest services, and will be led by Kessler as CEO.  

“Over the past two years, we have built a strong relationship with the CohnReznick team and have been deeply impressed by the company’s culture, vision, and the consistent growth they have achieved,” Ashish Karandikar, a partner at Apax Partners, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with David and the firm’s leadership team to fuel the next phase of growth. Together, we aim to accelerate  service line expansion, explore new geographic opportunities, and drive innovation. We look forward to what we are confident will be a highly successful and rewarding partnership.” 

Apax was advised by Guggenheim Securities, LLC and CohnReznick was advised by William Blair &  Company, LLC. Koltin Consulting Group served as an additional financial advisor to both Apax and  CohnReznick.

“It was love at first sight,” Allan Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, said in a statement. “I can’t recall two firms and their leaders culturally and strategically aligning as fast as they did. When one side talked, the other side finished the sentence. No question in my mind, this combination will produce one of the next $2 billion firms in the accounting profession, but more importantly produce a lot of successful people and clients along the way.”