We Can Help You Design Your Plan to Get the Most Out of Your 401(k)

401(k) plans are highly flexible and can be customized to meet your company’s retirement benefits objectives. Most plans and features are tailored based on one of four core plan designs. The Solo 401(k) is meant for owner-only plans and can include spouses.

For companies with employees, the Safe Harbor 401(k) plan ensures that your retirement plan automatically satisfies IRS discrimination testing and requires immediate vesting of employer contributions. The Traditional 401(k) plan offers options for vesting, matching at various levels, or not at all. Advanced profit sharing or tiered profit sharing offers added ways to compensate your employees through their retirement plan and different amounts. The chart below provides a quick overview:


Owner-Only Businesses
Businesses with Employees
Solo 401(k) Safe Harbor 401(k) Traditional 401(k) Tiered Profit-Sharing 401(k)
Best for… Self-employed, owner-only, and spouses contributing >$6.5K per year. Ensuring owners and highly compensated employees can contribute to the plan without restrictions. Businesses that want the flexibility in matching or not, vesting schedules, and employee eligibility. Rewarding employees by group, tenure, or age.
Matching is… Not Applicable.
May contribute as an employee and an employer!
Required. Optional, but may limit owner contributions. Likely, depending on plan configuration.
Profit-sharing option is… May profit share and/or contribute as an employee. Standard option available. Standard option available. Advanced options available.
IRS testing is… Not applicable. There are rules for how much you may contribute. Automatically satisfied! Required Required; may or may not automatically satisfy requirements.
Vesting schedule is… Not applicable. Not applicable to employer match, may have profit share vesting if using. An option with various percentages and years.May also choose not to use this feature. Typically, immediate with flexible options for additional profit-sharing.

We support Davis-Bacon or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) plan designs too. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) allows for one profit-sharing amount for wages subject to FICA and one for wages above the FICA limit but below the maximum allowable compensation amounts. We support most any plan design need and can help you determine the right fit for your objectives.

Just give us a call for more information.