Remember to seek professional advice BEFORE starting any plan! Below are merely highlights. For details regarding contribution limits or which plan is best for you, you need to seek a professional advisor that specializes in retirement plans for businesses.

SEP Plan: This plan is popular for the sole-proprietor and small businesses with less than 5 employees. Any employee that has worked for the employer for three out of the past five years and is age 21 or older is eligible. Only the employer can contribute to this plan. Easy, minimal paperwork, minimal tax filing, and there is no requirement of ongoing contributions year to year.

SIMPLE Plan: This plan is popular for businesses with less than 100 employees and is a nice alternative to a 401(k) Plan. Any employee earning $5000 during any two preceding years and who is expected to earn $5000 + in the current year will be included in the plan. Employees can contribute to this plan, and employers are required to match a certain level. Easy, minimal paperwork, minimal expense, and minimal tax filing.

401(k) Plan: This plan is popular for businesses with over 10 employees and is a much more complicated product to understand than the above mentioned plans. As a brief summary, this is a popular plan when the employees have a desire to save money for retirement. There are participation rules and a TPA* will be needed to administrate this plan. Employers are not required to match the contributions, but they must commit to expenses for upfront trust and document costs, and ongoing yearly costs to administrate the plan. Employees with at least 1000 hours of service within one year and who is age 21 or older is eligible. You absolutely need to talk with a professional before considering this plan for your business.

401(k) with Safe Harbor provisions: This is an additional plan that needs to be discussed with a professional. This is often used by employers when the participation is not quite big enough to warrant a 401(k) plan. A match is required by the employer and some testing is eliminated.

Profit Sharing Plan: This plan can be appropriate for most businesses. The contribution comes only from the employers and is not required every year. This can be used alone as a primary pension plan, and often times is used in addition to a 401(k) plan. Employees with 1000 hours of service within one year and who is age 21 or older can be included. There are many alternatives to this plan and professional advice and a TPA * will be needed to administrate this plan. There are many alternatives within this plan to explore, and this can be a bit confusing for the business owner. As mentioned, please seek a professional for advice.