Retirement plans for small business owners to consider

提供退休计划是小企业吸引和留住员工的好方法. 退休计划还可以帮助雇员和小企业主避免纳税，同时促进退休储蓄. To accommodate the varied needs of individual small businesses, the tax code offers several types of small business retirement plans. As such, 重要的是要相互比较，为每个人找到最好的退休计划.

Retirement plans for small businesses

Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) or SEP IRA

Under this plan, 雇员建立个人退休账户，雇主每年为雇员提供高达25%的补偿. There is no employee contribution in this SEP plan. It's simple, and it's popular with small family-owned businesses.

Benefits of a SEP Plan

• Employers have the option to use less restrictive participation requirements.
• Any investment earnings are tax-deferred until withdrawal.
• 这是小企业主吸引和留住员工的一种免税方式，同时也为自己的退休储蓄.
• The business owner is generally an eligible participant.

Requirements of a SEP Plan

• A SEP IRA plan must be available to all employees who are at least 21 years old, 在过去五年中，谁曾在最少三年为雇主提供服务，并从雇主处获得最少600元的补偿.

Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)

Companies with fewer than 100 employees can set up a SIMPLE IRA plan. 每个雇员都开一个个人退休账户，雇主和雇员都向账户里存钱. There is minimal paperwork and no separate administration fees. It's an efficient way to provide a retirement plan to a large group of people, that is, large by small-business standards.

Benefits of a Simple IRA Plan

• Eligible employees may choose to make deferrals before taxes from their paychecks.
• 雇主可向本计划的每位合资格雇员支付2%的非选择性补偿，或匹配个人供款，最高可达3%的补偿.
• Employers may change the percentage from year to year, but certain restrictions do apply.
• Participating employees don't have to pay taxes on the income they contribute, either. However, employees generally owe taxes if they take withdrawals.
• 雇员的投资收益将复利延税，直到他们开始提款.

Requirements of a Simple IRA Plan

• Eligible employees may be required to have received at least $5,在本年度之前的任何两年内，从企业获得5,000美元的补偿，并且合理预期至少可以赚取5美元,000 in the current year to participate. An employer can set less restrictive requirements (for example, allowing all employees to participate, even those making less than $5,000), but it can't make more restrictions.
• This plan is for businesses with 100 or fewer employees. If the business grows and the employer hires more than 100 people, the plan can continue for two more years before expiring permanently.

Traditional 401k

小企业传统的401k退休计划允许员工在税前的基础上留出一部分工资用于退休. 指定罗斯供款（Designated Roth Contributions）也是一种可行的选择，让员工能够在税后的基础上拿出一部分工资供款. Companies offering a 401k need to file paperwork each year to ensure their plan complies with IRS regulations. But still, 传统的401k计划对于计划增长的企业来说是一个很好的选择，并且希望在代表符合条件的员工缴纳多少钱方面具有灵活性.

Benefits of a Traditional 401k Plan

• Contributions are made with pre-tax dollars. Employee contributions may include Designated Roth Contributions.
• Employee contributions are 100% vested.
• Employer sponsored plan that provides employees investment option choices.
• Taxes on matching funds are deferred until withdrawn.

Requirements of a Traditional 401k Plan

• 必须进行年度非歧视测试，以证明该计划的运作符合适用的法规.
• Eligible employee is defined as someone who has reached age 21, has at least one year of service and has worked at least 1,000 hours in the year beginning with the date of hire. Employer may establish less restrictive eligibility requirements.

Safe Harbor 401k

This type of 401k plan is similar to a traditional 401k plan in many respects. Under a Safe Harbor Plan, 因为该计划包括匹配或自动雇主供款，允许所有员工每年向自己的账户提供最高金额的潜在供款，因此减少了管理费用. Although it is less flexible than a traditional 401k, it may be easier for a small business to operate and comply with IRS regulations.

Benefits of a Safe Harbor 401k Plan

• Generally it allows participants, including the business owners, to set more money aside than other types of retirement plans, which may have lower limits on allowed annual contributions.
• Internal Revenue Code, and related regulations, 允许安全港401k计划不歧视员工，无论他们的收入如何, even if the owner is the only employee contributing.
• Employers can make the plan more inclusive, for example, 通过覆盖年轻员工或允许工作不到一年的员工参加.
• Contributions are made with pre-tax dollars. Employee contributions may include Designated Roth Contributions.
• Employee contributions and employer Safe Harbor contributions are 100% vested.

Safe Harbor 401k Plan requirements

• Eligible employee is defined as someone who has reached age 21, has at least one year of service and has worked at least 1,000 hours in the year beginning with the date of hire. The employer may establish less restrictive eligibility requirements.
• 雇主供款-雇主必须向安全港401k计划供款. The employer can do this by:
  • Contributing a minimum of 3% of the compensation for eligible employees.
  • Or, the employer can match the salary deferral contributions of all eligible employees. An example of this would be, if an eligible employee defers 5% of their wages (i.e., compensation), 然后，雇主须为雇员补偿的4%作出相应的供款. This is built from the basic formula where:
    • 雇主缴纳100%的工资递延缴款，即薪酬的前3%.
    • 再加上另外50%的工资递延缴款，即接下来2%的薪酬.
• 100%兑现雇主供款-安全港雇主供款100%立即兑现. Employees may take that money when they leave the business, no matter how long they have worked there.
• Annual notice to participants - Each year, 雇主必须提供一份通知，解释安全港计划的贡献以及雇主将如何满足这些要求.
• 建立截止日期-新计划必须在适用年度的10月1日之前建立（假设是日历年计划）。.

Individual 401k

This 401k plan is for a company that only has an owner(s) and their spouse, if applicable, with no common law employees. 与其他类型的退休计划相比，个人401k计划可能允许所有者留出更多的收入.

Benefits of an Individual 401k

• 可以让业主和他们的配偶比其他类型的退休计划更多地避税吗.
• 与其他商业退休计划相比，企业主可能被允许向这类计划贡献更多的收入.
• Contributions to the plan may be tax-deductible by the business.
• 在困难情况下，企业主可以通过贷款拨备借入部分账户余额.
• Contributions to the plan are flexible and may include pre-tax elective deferrals, after-tax Designated Roth Contributions, discretionary or profit sharing and rollover contributions.
• 业主最多可向本计划供款25%的合资格入息，作为酌情供款或分享利润供款. 如果是自雇人士，请参阅IRS出版物编号560来计算您的允许供款.
• Elective deferral limits are adjusted periodically by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including the additional elective deferral amount for participants aged 50 or older.

Individual 401k requirements

• An Individual 401k plan is available for businesses established as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or incorporated, including a Subchapter S corporation.
• Businesses determined to be part of a controlled group of businesses are not eligible.
• Deadline to establish a plan is by the last day of the fiscal year. For a calendar year business, this deadline is December 31st.