Retirement Planning
Individual and Business Retirement Plans
A tax qualified retirement plan is an increasing necessity for both individuals and businesses. Individuals who contribute to a 401(k), 403(b) or various IRA plans are more likely to have a comfortable asset base to rely on during their retirement. Businesses that offer these same plans can attract and retain key personnel at a minimum cost to the corporation. We serve both the individual and business marketplace in order to provide valuable retirement planning tools and strategies.
Group Benefits and Company Sponsored Retirement Plans
Many small to medium businesses have not yet provided a group retirement plan to their employees. Business owners might worry about cost, implementation, management or participation from their employees. Investment firms realized that this niche market was underserved and have created low cost group plans that require minimal maintenance by the business owner or operator. When offered, employees have seized the opportunity to defer taxable income while saving for their retirement years.
For-profit companies can easily implement affordable 401(k) plans while non-profit organizations can establish 403(b) plans for their employees. Plan administrators provide diversified investment options including conservative fixed interest accounts as well as more aggressive accounts offering mutual funds from leading firms such as AIM, Federated, Fidelity, MFS and T.Rowe Price.
A company/group plan is maintained by the plan administrators so the business owner(s) and employees can maintain productivity. The administrators will provide information regarding contribution limits, changes in the tax code and withdrawal options each year. Congress also allows business owners to deduct a portion of the plan expense. Get started and set up a plan for you and your employees today.
401(k), 403(b) and IRA Rollovers
If you are leaving your place of employment, often times you can only keep your retirement plan with the administrator for a short period of time. In many cases, you might simply wish to rollover the account to an IRA. A rollover will allow you to take advantage of recent beneficial IRA legislation.
The most prevalent mistake some retirees make is in thinking they need to cash out of their group plan when they separate from service. If you choose to cash out rather than rollover your plan to a new tax-qualified account, the principal in your plan can be taxed as ordinary income. To make matters worse, if you have not reached age 59 ½, a ten percent early withdrawal penalty can be enforced.
However, the Internal Revenue Service has allowed for the rollover of retirement dollars from one qualified plan to another without creating a taxable event or ten percent early withdrawal penalty. A qualified rollover allows taxable income to be deferred to at least age 59 ½ when you may begin taking withdrawals free from IRS penalties. If you have no need for a distribution, then your retirement dollars can continue to grow tax deferred until your mandatory required distribution at age 70 ½. The mandatory distribution is based on IRS life expectancy tables. Get started and rollover your account today.
Individual IRA Contribution Limits
Individuals may need to create their own plan if they are self employed or their employer will not offer a group plan. Currently, individuals have a myriad of options available to them. There are several companies offering IRA, Keogh, Roth, Self Employed Pension plans. Conservative investors can set up fixed interest accounts while more aggressive consumers who possess market experience may choose to set up an online brokerage account.
IRA contribution limits are $4,000 in 2007-2007 and then increase to $5,000 in 2008 Investors over age 50 are afforded a $1,000 catch up provision in addition to the amounts listed above. Entrepreneurs who have created corporations or other entities are allowed larger contributions based on declared income and IRS mandated limits. Contact us and we will you help set up a personal retirement account.
In summary both businesses and individuals can easily establish and maintain a retirement account. Changes to the tax code and Congressional mandates make these plans more attractive than ever. As the solvency of Social Security continues to remain a mystery, it may be more important than ever to help yourself and your employees plan for retirement.
