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Suddenly Become Self-Employed? We’ve Got a Retirement Plan for You.

Published on December 17, 2020

Has your furlough become permanent or have you decided not to return to your place of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Is it time to turn a long-time interest into a business? If so, you are among the many older Americans who have recently joined the ranks of the self-employed, or are now semi-retired and working a nontraditional job. If that’s you, putting a tax-advantaged retirement plan in place is a smart step along your entrepreneurship and/or nearing-retirement journey.

Deciding how to approach your new employment situation and retirement strategy depends on certain factors. Perhaps you already have an established IRA you’ve been contributing to over the course of your career, with ample savings there and Social Security benefits on the horizon—but you like the idea of continuing to work in some capacity. Or maybe you had an employer-sponsored retirement plan but have separated service from that employer—in which case, you can roll those funds over into a new retirement plan.

With the sudden change in status from W-2 employee to independent contractor or business owner, you may not be aware of the self-employment taxes that come along with this new phase of your working life. You can continue to beef up your nest egg with several different retirement plans that also provide shelter from those taxes—and can all be self-directed.

Three ways for the self-employed to save for retirement

While you may continue to contribute to an existing Traditional or Roth IRA, there are additional options for the self-employed to consider, each with distinct tax advantages: a SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or a solo 401(k). Plus, if you open a self-directed retirement plan, you can include many alternative assets and build diversity into your retirement portfolio through the nontraditional investments these plans allow—like real estate, private equity, lending, hedge funds and partnerships.

A solo 401(k) is for individuals operating an owner-only business (a spouse may also participate) and can replace your employer-sponsored 401(k) plan. Note that employee elective deferrals must be made by December 31; the employer contribution can be made upon calculating and finalizing the net income when doing the tax returns (March or April of the following year).

Qualifying for each type of plan depends on whether you are entirely self-employed or also still working for a company with a retirement plan (to which you may still contribute). These plans not only help individuals maximize their retirement savings—they are tax-saving tools as well, with different contribution strategies for each type of plan and according to your specific financial situation. Therefore, we recommend you review and discuss these with your trusted advisor to maximize your tax-saving opportunities.

If you have any questions about the types of alternative assets allowed in a self-directed SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA or solo(k), or how the transaction process works with a self-directed retirement plan administrator, schedule a complimentary education session with a Next Generation representative. Alternatively, we’re also available to answer your questions via phone at 888.857.8058 or by email at NewAccounts@NextGenerationTrust.com.