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401(k) and 403(b) Retirement Plans

Employer retirement account terms for 401(k), 403(b), Roth, safe-harbor, and solo plan variants.

These pages group the most common employer retirement account variants used by U.S. workers and owner-only businesses.

In this section

  • 401(k) Plan
    Employer-sponsored U.S. retirement plan combining payroll contributions, tax advantages, and often employer matching.
  • 403(b) Plan
    Retirement plan for public-school employees, ministers, and certain tax-exempt organizations, often compared with a 401(k) but built around a different eligible workforce.
  • Roth 401(k)
    401(k) contribution option funded with after-tax money, trading current tax relief for tax-free qualified withdrawals later.
  • Safe Harbor 401(k)
    401(k) design that uses required employer contributions to simplify key nondiscrimination compliance requirements.
  • Solo 401(k)
    401(k)-style retirement plan built for self-employed people and owner-only businesses.
Revised on Monday, May 18, 2026