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IRS Releases Publication 3998 (10/2015), Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business


Publication 3998 (10/2015)

DATED
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
Citations: Publication 3998 (10/2015)

Why Save?

 

Any Tax Advantages?

 

Any Other Incentives?

 

A Few Retirement Facts

 

Payroll Deduction IRAs

 

Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs)

 

SIMPLE IRA Plans

 

Profit Sharing Plans

 

401(k) Plans

 

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans

 

Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans

 

Defined Benefit Plans

 

To Find Out More . . .

Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business is a joint project of the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Internal Revenue Service.

To view this and other EBSA publications, visit the agency's website at: dol.gov/ebsa.

To order publications or request assistance from a benefits advisor, contact EBSA electronically at: askebsa.dol.gov.

Or call toll free: 866-444-3272.

This publication will be made available in alternative format to persons with disabilities upon request.

Voice Phone: (202) 693-8664

TDD* phone: (202) 501-3911

This publication constitutes a small entity compliance guide for purposes of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It does not constitute legal, accounting, or other professional advice.

Starting a retirement savings plan can be easier than most business owners think. What's more, there are a number of retirement programs that provide tax advantages to both employers and employees.

Why Save?

Experts estimate that Americans will need 70 to 90 percent of their preretirement income to maintain their current standard of living when they stop working. So now is the time to look into retirement plan programs. As an employer, you have an important role in helping America's workers save.

By starting a retirement savings plan, you will help your employees save for the future. Retirement plans may also help you attract and retain qualified employees, and they offer tax savings to your business. You will help secure your own retirement as well. You can establish a plan even if you are self-employed.

Any Tax Advantages?

A retirement plan has significant tax advantages:

 

• Employer contributions are deductible from the employer's income,

• Employee contributions (other than Roth contributions) are not taxed until distributed to the employee, and

• Money in the plan grows tax-free.

 

Any Other Incentives?

In addition to helping your business, your employees, and yourself, it's easy to establish a retirement plan, and there are additional reasons for doing so:

 

• High contribution limits so you and your employees can set aside large amounts for retirement;

• "Catch-up" rules that allow employees age 50 and over to set aside additional contributions. The "catch up" amount varies, depending on the type of plan;

• A tax credit for small employers that enables them to claim a credit for part of the ordinary and necessary costs of starting a SEP, SIMPLE, or certain other types of retirement plans (more on these later). The credit equals 50 percent of the cost to set up and administer the plan, up to a maximum of $500 per year for each of the first 3 years of the plan;

• A tax credit for certain low- and moderate-income individuals (including self-employed) who make contributions to their plans ("Saver's Credit"). The amount of the credit is based on the contributions participants make and their credit rate. The maximum contribution eligible for the credit is $2,000. The credit rate can be as low as 10 percent or as high as 50 percent, depending on the participant's adjusted gross income; and

• A Roth program that can be added to a 401(k) plan to allow participants to make after-tax contributions into separate accounts, providing an additional way to save for retirement. Distributions upon death or disability or after age 59 1/2 from Roth accounts held for 5 years, including earnings, are generally tax-free.

 

A Few Retirement Facts

Most private-sector retirement vehicles are either Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), defined contribution plans, or defined benefit plans.

People tend to think of an IRA as something that individuals establish on their own, but an employer can help its employees set up and fund their IRAs. With an IRA, the amount that an individual receives at retirement depends on the funding of the IRA and the earnings (or losses) on those funds.

Defined contribution plans are employer-established plans that do not promise a specific amount of benefit at retirement. Instead, employees or their employer (or both) contribute to employees' individual accounts under the plan, sometimes at a set rate (such as 5 percent of salary annually). At retirement, an employee receives the accumulated contributions plus earnings (or minus losses) on the invested contributions.

Defined benefit plans, on the other hand, promise a specified benefit at retirement; for example, $1,000 a month. The amount of the benefit is often based on a set percentage of pay multiplied by the number of years the employee worked for the employer offering the plan. Employer contributions must be sufficient to fund promised benefits.

Small businesses may choose to offer IRAs, defined contribution plans, or defined benefit plans. Many financial institutions and retirement plan practitioners make available one or more of these retirement plans that have been pre-approved by the IRS.

On the following two pages you will find a chart outlining the advantages of each of the most popular types of IRA-based and defined contribution plans and an overview of a defined benefit plan. Note: there is a new option -- myRA, a retirement account from the U.S. Department of the Treasury -- that is not discussed in this publication. For more information, visit myra.gov.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                            IRA-BASED PLANS

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                Payroll

 

                Deduction IRA                 SEP

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Key            Easy to set up and maintain.  Easy to set up and

 

 Advantage                                    maintain.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer       Any employer with one or      Any employer with one or

 

 Eligibility    more employees.               more employees.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer's     Arrange for employees to      May use IRS Form 5305-SEP

 

 Role           make payroll deduction        to set up the plan. No

 

                contributions. Transmit       annual filing requirement

 

                contributions for employees   for employer.

 

                to IRA. No annual filing

 

                requirement for employer.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributors   Employee contributions        Employer contributions

 

 To The Plan    remitted through payroll      only.

 

                deduction.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Maximum        $5,500 for 2015 and           Up to 25% of

 

 Annual         for 2016. Participants age    compensation1 but no more

 

 Contribution   50 or over can make           than $53,000 for 2015 and

 

 (per           additional contributions      for 2016.

 

 participant)   up to $1,000.

 

 See irs.gov/

 

 retirement

 

 for annual

 

 updates

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributor's  Employee can decide how much  Employer can decide

 

 Options        to contribute at any time.    whether to make

 

                                              contributions

 

                                              year-to-year.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Minimum        There is no requirement.      Must be offered to all

 

 Employee       Can be made available to any  employees who are at

 

 Coverage       employee.                     least 21 years old,

 

 Requirements                                 employed by the employer

 

                                              for 3 of the last 5 years

 

                                              and had compensation of

 

                                              $600 for 2015 and

 

                                              for 2016.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Withdrawals,   Withdrawals permitted         Withdrawals permitted

 

 Loans &        anytime subject to federal    anytime subject to

 

 Payments       income taxes; early           federal income taxes;

 

                withdrawals subject to an     early withdrawals subject

 

                additional tax (special       to an additional tax.

 

                rules apply to Roth IRAs).    Participants cannot take

 

                Participant loans are not     loans from their

 

                permitted.                    SEP-IRAs.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Vesting        Contributions are             Contributions are

 

                immediately 100% vested.      immediately 100% vested.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 [Table Continued]

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                IRA-BASED PLANS

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                SIMPLE IRA Plan               Profit Sharing

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Key            Salary reduction plan with    Permits employer to make

 

 Advantage      little administrative         large contributions for

 

                paperwork.                    employees.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer       Any employer with 100 or      Any employer with one or

 

 Eligibility    fewer employees that does     more employees.

 

                not currently maintain

 

                another retirement plan.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer's     May use IRS Form              No model form to

 

 Role           5304-SIMPLE or 5305-SIMPLE    establish this plan. May

 

                to set up the plan. No        need advice from a

 

                annual filing requirement     financial institution or

 

                for employer. Bank or         employee benefit adviser.

 

                financial institution         Must file annual

 

                handles most of the           Form 5500.

 

                paperwork.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributors   Employee salary reduction     Annual employer

 

 To The Plan    contributions and employer    contribution is

 

                contributions.                discretionary.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Maximum        Employee: $12,500 in 2015     Up to the lesser of 100%

 

 Annual         and in 2016.                  of compensation1 or

 

 Contribution   Participants age 50 or over   $53,000 for 2015 and

 

 (per           can make additional           for 2016.

 

 participant)   contributions up to $3,000    Employer can deduct

 

                for 2015 and for                     amounts that do not

 

 See irs.gov/   2016.                         exceed 25% of aggregate

 

 retirement                                   compensation for all

 

 for annual     Employer: Either match        participants.

 

 updates        employee contributions 100%

 

                of first 3% of compensation

 

                (can be reduced to as low

 

                as 1% in any 2 out of 5

 

                yrs.); or contribute 2% of

 

                each eligible employee's

 

                compensation2.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributor's  Employee can decide how       Employer makes

 

 Options        much to contribute.           contribution as set by

 

                Employer must make matching   plan terms.

 

                contributions or contribute

 

                2% of each employee's

 

                compensation.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Minimum        Must be offered to all        Generally, must be

 

 Employee       employees who have            offered to all employees

 

 Coverage       compensation of at least      at least 21 years old who

 

 Requirements   $5,000 in any prior 2         worked at least 1,000

 

                years, and are reasonably     hours in a previous year.

 

                expected to earn at least

 

                $5,000 in the current year.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Withdrawals,   Withdrawals permitted         Withdrawals permitted

 

 Loans &        anytime subject to federal    after a specified event

 

 Payments       income taxes; early           occurs (retirement, plan

 

                withdrawals subject to an     termination, etc.)

 

                additional tax. Participants  subject to federal income

 

                cannot take loans from their  taxes. Plan may permit

 

                SIMPLE IRAs.                  loans and hardship

 

                                              withdrawals; early

 

                                              withdrawals subject to an

 

                                              additional tax.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Vesting        All contributions are         May vest over time

 

                immediately 100% vested.      according to plan terms.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 [Table Continued]

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                      DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                                              Automatic Enrollment

 

                Safe Harbor 401(k)            401(k)

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Key            Permits high level of salary  Provides high level of

 

 Advantage      deferrals by employees        participation and permits

 

                without annual                high level of salary

 

                nondiscrimination testing.    deferrals by employees.

 

                                              Also safe harbor relief

 

                                              for default investments.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer       Any employer with one or      Any employer with one or

 

 Eligibility    more employees.               more employees.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer's     No model form to establish    No model form to

 

 Role           this plan. May need advice    establish this plan. May

 

                from a financial institution  need advice from a

 

                or employee benefit adviser.  financial institution or

 

                A minimum amount of employer  employee benefit adviser.

 

                contributions is required.    May require annual

 

                Must file annual Form 5500.   nondiscrimination testing

 

                                              to ensure that plan does

 

                                              not discriminate in favor

 

                                              of highly compensated

 

                                              employees. Must file

 

                                              annual Form 5500.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributors   Employee salary reduction     Employee salary reduction

 

 To The Plan    contributions and employer    contributions and may be

 

                contributions.                employer contributions.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Maximum        Employee: $18,000 in 2015     Employee: $18,000 in 2015

 

 Annual         and in 2016.                  and $1X,X00 in 2016.

 

 Contribution   Participants age 50 or over   Participants age 50 or

 

 (per           can make additional           over can make additional

 

 participant)   contributions up to $6,000    contributions up to

 

                in 2015, and in               $6,000 in 2015, and

 

 See irs.gov/   2016.                         in 2016.

 

 retirement

 

 for annual     Employer/Employee Combined:   Employer/Employee

 

 updates        Up to the lesser of 100% of   Combined: Up to the

 

                compensation1 or $53,000 for  lesser of 100% of

 

                2015 and for 2016.            compensation1 or $53,000

 

                Employer can deduct (1)       for 2015 and for

 

                amounts that do not exceed    2016. Employer can deduct

 

                25% of aggregate              (1) amounts that do not

 

                compensation for all          exceed 25% of aggregate

 

                participants and (2) all      compensation for all

 

                salary reduction              participants and (2) all

 

                contributions.                salary reduction

 

                                              contributions.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributor's  Employee can decide how much  Employees, unless they

 

 Options        to contribute based on a      opt otherwise, must make

 

                salary reduction agreement.   salary reduction

 

                The employer must make        contributions specified

 

                either specified matching     by the employer. The

 

                contributions or a 3%         employer can make

 

                contribution to all           additional contributions,

 

                participants.                 including matching

 

                                              contributions as set by

 

                                              plan terms.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Minimum        Generally, must be offered    Generally, must be

 

 Employee       to all employees at least 21  offered to all employees

 

 Coverage       years old who worked at       at least 21 years old who

 

 Requirements   least 1,000 hours in a        worked at least 1,000

 

                previous year.                hours in a previous year.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Withdrawals,   Withdrawals permitted after   Withdrawals permitted

 

 Loans &        a specified event occurs      after a specified event

 

 Payments       (retirement, plan             occurs (retirement, plan

 

                termination, etc.) subject    termination, etc.)

 

                to federal income taxes.      subject to federal income

 

                Plan may permit loans and     taxes. Plan may permit

 

                hardship withdrawals; early   loans and hardship

 

                withdrawals subject to an     withdrawals; early

 

                additional tax.               withdrawals subject to an

 

                                              additional tax.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Vesting        Employee salary reduction     Employee salary reduction

 

                contributions and all safe    contributions are

 

                harbor employer               immediately 100% vested.

 

                contributions are             Employer contributions

 

                immediately 100% vested.      may vest over time

 

                Some employer contributions   according to plan terms.

 

                may vest over time according

 

                to plan terms.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 [Table Continued]

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS

 

 -------------------------------------------  DEFINED BENEFIT

 

                Traditional 401(k)            PLANS

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Key            Permits high level of salary  Provides a fixed,

 

 Advantage      deferrals by employees.       pre-established benefit

 

                                              for employees.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer       Any employer with one or      Any employer with one or

 

 Eligibility    more employees.               more employees.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Employer's     No model form to establish    No model form to

 

 Role           this plan. May need advice    establish this plan.

 

                from a financial institution  Advice from a financial

 

                or employee benefit adviser.  institution or employee

 

                Requires annual               benefit adviser would be

 

                nondiscrimination testing to  necessary. Must file

 

                ensure that plan does not     annual Form 5500. An

 

                discriminate in favor of      actuary must determine

 

                highly compensated            annual contributions.

 

                employees. Must file annual

 

                Form 5500.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributors   Employee salary reduction     Primarily funded by

 

 To The Plan    contributions and may be      employer.

 

                employer contributions.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Maximum        Employee: $18,000 in 2015     Annually determined

 

 Annual         and in 2016.                  contribution.

 

 Contribution   Participants age 50 or over

 

 (per           can make additional

 

 participant)   contributions up to $6,000

 

                in 2015, and in

 

 See irs.gov/   2016.

 

 retirement

 

 for annual     Employer/Employee Combined:

 

 updates        Up to the lesser of 100% of

 

                compensation1 or $53,000 for

 

                2015 and for 2016.

 

                Employer can deduct (1)

 

                amounts that do not exceed

 

                25% of aggregate

 

                compensation for all

 

                participants and (2) all

 

                salary reduction

 

                contributions.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Contributor's  Employee can decide how       Employer generally

 

 Options        much to contribute based on   required to make

 

                a salary reduction            contribution as set by

 

                agreement. The employer can   plan terms.

 

                make additional

 

                contributions, including

 

                matching contributions as

 

                set by plan terms.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Minimum        Generally, must be offered    Generally, must be

 

 Employee       to all employees at least 21  offered to all employees

 

 Coverage       years old who worked at       at least 21 years old who

 

 Requirements   least 1,000 hours in a        worked at least 1,000

 

                previous year.                hours in a previous year.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Withdrawals,   Withdrawals permitted after   Payment of benefits after

 

 Loans &        a specified event occurs      a specified event occurs

 

 Payments       (retirement, plan             (retirement, plan

 

                termination, etc.) subject    termination, etc.). Plan

 

                to federal income taxes.      may permit loans; early

 

                Plan may permit loans and     withdrawals subject to an

 

                hardship withdrawals; early   additional tax.

 

                withdrawals subject to an

 

                additional tax.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 Vesting        Employee salary reduction     May vest over time

 

                contributions are             according to plan terms.

 

                immediately 100% vested.

 

                Employer contributions may

 

                vest over time according to

 

                plan terms.

 

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 1 Maximum compensation on which 2015 contributions

 

 can be based is $265,000 ($2XX,000 for 2016).

 

 2 Maximum compensation on which 2015 employer 2%

 

 contributions can be based is $265,000 ($2XX,000 for 2016).

 

 ======================================================================

 

 

Payroll Deduction IRAs

Even if an employer doesn't want to adopt a retirement plan, the employer can allow its employees to contribute to an IRA through payroll deductions, providing a simple and direct way for employees to save. In this type of arrangement, the employee always makes the decisions about whether, when, and how much to contribute to the IRA (up to $5,500 for 2015 and for 2016 and $6,500 for 2015 and for 2016 if age 50 or older, increasing thereafter).

Some individuals eligible to contribute to an IRA wait until the end of the year to set aside the money and then find that they don't have sufficient funds to do so. Payroll deductions allow employees to plan ahead and save smaller amounts each pay period. Payroll deduction contributions are tax-deductible by the employee, to the same extent as other IRA contributions.

Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs)

A SEP plan allows employers to set up SEP IRAs for themselves and each of their employees. Employers generally must contribute a uniform percentage of pay for each employee, although they do not have to make contributions every year. Employer contributions are limited to the lesser of 25 percent of pay or $53,000 for 2015 and for 2016. (Note: the dollar amount is indexed for inflation and may increase.) Most employers, including those who are self-employed, can establish a SEP.

SEPs have low start-up and operating costs and can be established using a two-page form. And you can decide how much to put into a SEP each year -- offering you some flexibility when business conditions vary.

SIMPLE IRA Plans

A SIMPLE IRA plan is a savings option for employers with 100 or fewer employees.

This plan allows employees to contribute a percentage of their salary each paycheck and requires employer contributions. Under SIMPLE IRA plans, employees can set aside up to $12,500 in 2015 and in 2016 ($15,500 in 2015 and in 2016 if age 50 or older) by payroll deduction (subject to cost-of-living adjustment in later years). Employers must either match employee contributions dollar for dollar -- up to 3 percent of an employee's compensation -- or make a fixed contribution of 2 percent of compensation for all eligible employees, even if the employees choose not to contribute.

If your plan provides for it, you can choose to automatically enroll employees in SIMPLE IRA plans as long as the employees are allowed to choose not to have salary reduction contributions made to their SIMPLE IRAs or to have salary reduction contributions made in a different amount.

SIMPLE IRA plans are easy to set up. You fill out a short form to establish a plan and ensure that SIMPLE IRAs (to hold contributions made under the SIMPLE IRA plan) are established for each employee. A financial institution can do much of the paperwork. Additionally, administrative costs are low.

You may have your employees set up their own SIMPLE IRAs at a financial institution of their choice or have all SIMPLE IRAs maintained at one financial institution you choose.

Employees can decide how and where the money will be invested, and keep their SIMPLE IRAs even when they change jobs.

Profit Sharing Plans

Employer contributions to a profit sharing plan can be discretionary. Depending on the plan terms, there is often no set amount that an employer needs to contribute each year.

If you do make contributions, you will need to have a set formula for determining how the contributions are allocated among plan participants. The funds are accounted separately for each employee.

Profit sharing plans can vary greatly in their complexity. Many financial institutions offer prototype profit sharing plans that can reduce the administrative burden on individual employers.

401(k) Plans

401(k) plans have become a widely accepted retirement savings vehicle for small businesses. An estimated 53 million U.S. workers participate in 401(k) plans that have total assets of about $4 trillion.

With a 401(k) plan, employees can choose to defer a portion of their salary. So instead of receiving that amount in their paycheck today, the employees can contribute the amount into a 401(k) plan sponsored by their employer. These deferrals are accounted separately for each employee. Deferrals are made on a pretax basis but, if the plan allows, the employee can choose to make them on an after-tax (Roth) basis. Many 401(k) plans provide for employer matching or other contributions. The Federal Government and most state governments do not tax employer contributions and pretax deferrals (plus earnings) until distributed.

Like most profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans can vary significantly in their complexity. However, many financial institutions and other organizations offer prototype 401(k) plans, which can greatly lessen the administrative burden of establishing and maintaining these plans.

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans

A safe harbor 401(k) plan is intended to encourage plan participation among rank-and-file employees and to ease the administrative burden by eliminating the tests ordinarily applied under a traditional 401(k) plan. This plan is ideal for businesses with highly compensated employees whose contributions would be limited in a traditional 401(k) plan.

A safe harbor 401(k) plan allows employees to contribute a percentage of their salary each paycheck and requires employer contributions. In a safe harbor 401(k) plan, the mandatory employer contribution is always 100 percent vested.

Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans

Automatic enrollment 401(k) plans can increase plan participation among rank-and-file employees and make it more likely that the plan will pass the tests ordinarily required under a traditional 401(k) plan. Some automatic enrollment 401(k) plans are exempt from the testing. This type of plan is for employers who want a high level of participation, and who have highly compensated employees whose contributions might be limited under a traditional 401(k) plan.

Employees are automatically enrolled in the plan and contributions are deducted from their paychecks, unless they opt out of contributing after receiving notice from the plan. There are default employee contribution rates, which may rise incrementally over the first few years, although the employee can choose different amounts.

Defined Benefit Plans

Some employers find that defined benefit plans offer business advantages. For instance, businesses can generally contribute (and therefore deduct) more each year than in defined contribution plans. In addition, employees often value the fixed benefit provided by this type of plan and can often receive a greater benefit at retirement than under any other type of retirement plan. However, defined benefit plans are often more complex and, likely, more expensive to establish and maintain than other types of plans.

To Find Out More . . .

The following jointly developed publications are available for small businesses on the DOL and IRS websites and through DOL's toll-free number listed below:

 

401(k) Plans for Small Businesses (Publication 4222)

Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans for Small Businesses (Publication 4674)

Payroll Deduction IRAs for Small Businesses (Publication 4587)

Profit Sharing Plans for Small Businesses (Publication 4806)

SEP Retirement Plans for Small Businesses (Publication 4333)

SIMPLE IRA Plans for Small Businesses (Publication 4334)

 

For business owners with a plan:

 

Adding Automatic Enrollment to Your 401(k) Plan (Publication 4721)

Retirement Plan Correction Programs (Publication 4224)

 

DOL website: dol.gov

Publications request number: 866-444-3272

IRS website: irs.gov/retirement

Also available from the U.S. Department of Labor:

DOL sponsors an interactive website -- the Small Business Retirement Savings Advisor, available at /taxbasehttp://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/ebsaplan.htm -- that encourages small business owners to choose the appropriate retirement plan for their business and provides resources on maintaining plans.

Publications for plan officials:

 

Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities

Understanding Retirement Plan Fees and Expenses

Selecting an Auditor for Your Employee Benefit Plan

Selecting and Monitoring Pension Consultants -- Tips for Plan Fiduciaries

Tips for Selecting and Monitoring Service Providers for Your Employee Benefit Plan

 

Also available from the Internal Revenue Service:
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