While 401(k) plans are a very common retirement plan, it is generally not the most of appropriate plan for small businesses. These plan require siginifcant setup, documentation and annual governmental filings. Two plans that small businesses may want to investigate are: 1. Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and 2. Savings Incentive Plan for employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE).
Both of these arrangements use Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) as the funding mechanism. The employee must set up and owns the account which makes things easy for the employer when an employee leaves. The employer only needs to coordinate with its payroll provider to transmit contributions to the employee’s IRA. These plans are also great choices for self employed individuals looking to maximize their retirement contributions.
To keep most of the contributions for the owners of the business, the employer is permitted to impose service requirements to receive a company contribution but must generally include part time employees if they have satisfied the requirement.
The SIMPLE plan is similar to a 401(k) but with lower contribution limits and a required company contribution. An employee who receives $5,000 in wages in any two of the past five years must be included in the plan. SIMPLE Plans are a good choice for self employed individuals with small profits who want to maximize their contributions.
The (SEP) which provides higher limits and more flexibility in contributions does not permit employees to make their own contributions. The employer can decide based on business conditions whether they will make a contribution, however if one is made it generally must be made on the same basis to other similarly situated employees. The most restrictive service requirement that may be imposed in a SEP is to require an employee to have worked three years out of the past five.