Self-Employed Retirement Plan
U.S. retirement plans for self-employed people, including SEP, SIMPLE, one-participant 401(k), profit-sharing, and defined benefit structures.
Retirement plan structures for self-employed workers and small employers, including SEP, SIMPLE, and owner-focused plan decisions.
Self-employed workers and small employers can choose among retirement structures with different employee coverage, contribution, payroll, tax, and administration rules. The broad Self-Employed Retirement Plan guide compares the main decision factors.
A SEP IRA uses employer contributions to separate participant IRAs and can provide year-to-year contribution flexibility, but the allocation formula must cover eligible employees. A SIMPLE IRA combines employee salary reductions with required employer contributions and annual plan procedures. A Solo 401(k) gives an owner separate employee and employer contribution roles but generally requires an owner-only workforce or an owner and working spouse.
Plan selection should start with the employee census, business income, payroll capacity, desired owner and employee contributions, vesting, investment access, fees, and administrative resources. An owner-only illustration may become wrong as soon as the business hires an eligible employee. Current IRS limits, plan documents, and professional guidance should be checked before establishment or funding. This material is educational and does not provide tax, legal, payroll, retirement-plan, or investment advice.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
U.S. retirement plans for self-employed people, including SEP, SIMPLE, one-participant 401(k), profit-sharing, and defined benefit structures.
Employer-funded U.S. retirement arrangement that directs contributions into individual SEP-IRAs for eligible owners and employees.
Small-employer retirement plan combining employee salary deferrals with required employer contributions, individual IRA accounts, and simplified administration.