In the Gen X and Gen Y arena, I am seeing more and more people quit the corporate America lifestyle and venture into becoming their own business owner.  This shape of a business owner can be a freelancer, consultant, or someone who actually starts up a brick and mortar operation.    Many of these folks will ask questions about whether they should incorporate their business or not which I have discussed in other articles – View Here.    Once they become profitable, they often ask which kind of retirement plan would suit them the best.   For someone who is a business of just one, the Solo 401(k) has been around for about a decade and provides a great alternative to helping maximize your retirement contributions.   Here’s a little history on the Solo 401(k) and how it can be a smart money moves for your business.

The Solo 401k came about in 2002 after Congress passed Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA). EGTRRA added some small paragraphs to the tax code that put forward the solo 401(K0 as the preferred retirement vehicle for those persons that were self-employed.

Before EGTRRA, a self-employed person had the ability to design a 401(k) plan just for themselves. However, there wasn’t a particularly compelling reason to do this because the deduction limit for a 401(k) plan was identical to a SEP-IRA.    Many small business owners set up plans like a SIMPLE IRA or a SEP-IRA because they are slightly easier to administer traditionally than 401(k) type plans.

The tiny paragraph in the EGTRRA changes basically says the employee contributions to a 401(k) plan do not count toward the deduction limit. Since most business owners I have met over the years are usually interested in maximizing all available tax deductions for retirement, a solo 401(k) plan became preferred to a SEP-IRA.  If the plan is set up correctly, a small business owner can not only put away as the ‘employee’ up to $17,000 per year pre-tax, but you may be able to put away up to an additional $33,000 pre-tax here in 2012 to make a total pre-tax contribution of $50,000.

Self-Employed 401(k) Plans

(source: fidelity.com)

Self-Employed individuals and owner-only (and the owner’s spouse) businesses and partnerships can save more for retirement through a 401(k) plan. Fidelity’s Self-Employed 401(k) allows you to take advantage of this increased retirement and tax savings opportunity with a full range of investment options.

It’s important that you do your homework on making sure the calculations are done correctly and the plan is set up correctly so you don’t contribute more than your allowed especially if you are self-employed.   It’s a good idea not to fly solo on this 401(k), and get the help of a professional financial advisor and/or account.    The company you choose to set the plan up with will help you determine the type of investment you have in the plan, but they should very similar to a corporate 401(k) plan with many different types of mutual funds and/or a self directed brokerage account.

If you need help with this, feel free to e-mail me at ted@oxygenfinancial.net and make sure you get the right type of retirement plan to help you reach your goals here in 2012!

Written by:

Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®

Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc - The Leaders in Gen X & Y Financial Advice

Visit to www.oxygenfinancial.net  to request a free consultation with the leading financial experts for people in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s in the country.

TED JENKIN IS SECURITIES LICENSED THROUGH INVESTACORP, INC. A REGISTERED BROKER/DEALER MEMBER FINRA, SIPC.ADVISORY SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH INVESTACORP ADVISORY SERVICES, INC. A SEC REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISORY FIRM. Linked sites are strictly provided as a courtesy. Investacorp, Inc., and its affiliates, do not guarantee, approve nor endorse the information or products available at these sites nor do links indicate any association with or endorsement of the linked sites by Investacorp, Inc. and its affiliates.