Retirement Plans

401k Plans

A 401(k) plan is a retirement savings plan offered by many American employers that has tax advantages for the saver. It is named after a section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC).

The employee who signs up for a 401(k) agrees to have a percentage of each paycheck paid directly into an investment account. The employer may match part or all of that contribution. The employee gets to choose among a number of investment options, usually mutual funds.

Simple IRAs

A Simple IRA is designed to be opened by a small business owner on behalf of up to 100 employees, including the owner if that person is a sole proprietor. Both the employee and the employer make contributions to a SIMPLE IRA, which stands for Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees.

SEP IRAs

A simplified employee pension (SEP) is an individual retirement account (IRA) that an employer or self-employed individual can establish. Small businesses and self-employed individuals can use SEP IRAs to meet retirement savings needs. SEP IRA contribution limits are adjusted annually and are often higher than standard IRAs.

Individual Retirement Accounts

An individual retirement account (IRA) is an account used to save for retirement.

Traditional IRA

A traditional individual retirement account (IRA) allows individuals to direct pre-tax income toward investments that can grow tax-deferred. The IRS assesses no capital gains or dividend income taxes until the beneficiary makes a withdrawal. Individual taxpayers can contribute 100% of any earned compensation up to a specified maximum dollar amount.

Income thresholds may also apply. Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax-deductible depending on the taxpayer's income, tax-filing status, and other factors.

Roth IRA

A Roth IRA is a special type of tax-advantaged individual retirement account to which you can contribute after-tax dollars. The primary benefit of a Roth IRA is that your contributions and the earnings on those contributions can grow tax-free and be withdrawn tax-free after the age 59½ assuming the account has been open for at least five years. In other words, you pay taxes on money going into your Roth IRA, and then all future withdrawals are tax-free.

Roth IRAs are similar to traditional IRAs, with the biggest distinction being how the two are taxed. Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax dollars—this means that the contributions are not tax-deductible, but once you start withdrawing funds, the money is tax-free.

Change 401k to IRA Rollovers

An IRA rollover is a transfer of funds from a retirement account, such as an employer-sponsored plan, into an individual retirement account (IRA). The purpose of a rollover is to maintain the tax-deferred status of those assets.

IRA rollovers are commonly used to hold 401(k), 403(b), or profit-sharing plan assets that are transferred from a former employer’s sponsored retirement account or qualified plan. An IRA rollover can also occur as an IRA-to-IRA transfer.