#retirement-plans
Explore retirement plan options, contribution limits, and strategies for business owners
Form 5330 reports excise taxes on retirement-plan failures: 15% on prohibited transactions, 10% on nondeductible contributions, until you correct them.
The IRS starting-a-business checklist covers structure, EIN, tax year, recordkeeping, and retirement plans — finish all seven before your first quarter closes.
IRS Publication 560 frames the employer choice as SEP vs. SIMPLE vs. qualified plan — compare uniformity, mandatory contributions, and admin cost.
A 401(k) loan caps at 50% of your vested balance or $50,000 — and leaving your job can turn the unpaid balance into taxable income plus a 10% penalty.
ERISA requires your 401(k) bonded for 10% of plan funds, $1,000 minimum, $500,000 cap, $1M with employer stock. Most bonds cost under $500 a year.
SECURE 2.0 lets 401(k) savers take $1,000 for emergencies or $10,000 after domestic abuse with no 10% penalty — self-certified, repayable in 3 years.
A 412(e)(3) plan funds pensions through insurance contracts, letting owners in their 50s deduct $100,000+ a year — with IRS-mandated fixed premiums.
October 15 is the extended Form 5500 deadline — miss it and penalties run $250/day IRS plus up to $2,739/day DOL, unless you file under the DFVCP.
The DOL's Lost and Found database lets workers search for forgotten 401(k)s by SSN — $2.1 trillion sits unclaimed. Here's how to search and claim yours.
The IRS still-working exception lets non-5% owners delay 401(k) RMDs past 73 until retirement — but only from a current employer plan that allows it.
A beneficiary form beats your will. Audit every 401(k), IRA, life policy, POD and TOD account for missing contingents, ex-spouses and minors.
Terminating a 401(k), SEP, or SIMPLE IRA requires 100% vesting, full asset distribution, and a final Form 5500 due seven months after the last payout.
