Business Retirement Plans for Business Owners
Lower your tax bill while building your own retirement, and your team’s.
A well-chosen retirement plan is one of the most powerful tax tools a business owner has. The right plan can move a large amount of income out of this year’s tax bill and into your own retirement, while giving your employees a benefit that helps you hire and keep good people. The catch is that the options vary widely, from a simple SEP-IRA or SIMPLE to a 401(k) or a cash balance plan that can shelter far more, and the best choice depends on your income, your age, and who else is on payroll. As a CPA firm, we run the numbers, recommend the plan that fits, coordinate the setup, and make sure the contributions line up with the rest of your tax strategy. Because we also handle your books, payroll, and personal planning, every piece stays connected. Fee-only and flat-fee.
Matching the plan to the business
SEP-IRA. Simple to run, no annual filing, funded entirely by the business. Works well for an owner with no employees. Once you have staff, the requirement to contribute the same percentage for eligible employees is what usually rules it out.
SIMPLE IRA. Lower administrative burden than a 401(k), with a required employer contribution. Often the sensible answer for a small team where a full 401(k) is more machinery than the business needs.
Solo 401(k). For an owner, or an owner and spouse, with no other eligible employees. Allows both an employee deferral and an employer contribution, which usually means a larger total than a SEP at the same income.
Safe harbor 401(k). For businesses with staff that want a real plan without failing annual testing. The employer contribution is the price of skipping the testing, and for most owner-heavy businesses that trade is worth making.
Cash balance plan. Layered on top of a 401(k) for high, stable income and an owner who is older than the workforce. Contribution capacity is substantially larger, the commitment is more serious, and it needs an actuary. Right for fewer businesses than it gets sold to.
The employee question changes everything
Most of the disappointment we see comes from an owner choosing a plan on its headline contribution limit without working out what it obliges them to contribute for staff. Coverage and testing rules exist to stop a plan benefiting only the owner, and they are the thing that determines whether a design actually works. The right question is not how much can I put in, it is how much of the total contribution ends up as mine, and what does the rest buy me in retention.
What you get
Choose the right plan: SEP, SIMPLE, 401(k), or cash balance. We match the plan to your income, age, and team so you shelter the most.
Shelter business income while funding your retirement. Turn a tax bill into your own future, year after year.
Coordinated with your payroll, books, and personal tax plan. The plan fits the rest of your finances instead of standing alone.
Timing matters
Some plans have to be in place before the year ends and others can be established after it, which means a decision made in January about the year just closed sometimes still has options and sometimes does not. It is worth a conversation before year end rather than at filing.
Who this is for
Profitable owner-operated businesses across the Lehigh Valley and Upper Bucks. Owners taking a large distribution or S-corp salary with nowhere efficient to put it. Practices wanting a plan that helps hold onto good staff.
Because we run the payroll and file the return, the contributions, the deductions and your personal plan stay consistent with each other.