Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Business Owners and Retirement Readiness?

COVID-19 has affected the American economy across a number of sectors and business owners nationwide are feeling the effects. Last month, TD Wealth released the results of a survey conducted in July among 1,296 business owners and individuals in two groups: high-net-worth business owners and individuals with investable assets of more than $500,000, and mass affluent business owners and individuals with investable assets between $100,000 and $499,000. The survey was about the pandemic’s impact on revenue and how or if that affected their retirement planning.

• The majority of respondents in both groups (67% and 73% respectively) said they were concerned about achieving their financial goals due to economic or political uncertainly.
• Among all business owners surveyed:
  • Eighty-seven percent said their revenue had been affected by the pandemic,
  • Forty-seven percent said they reduced their operations,
  • Twenty-five percent experienced temporary or permanent closures.

However, 85% of respondents said they had not altered their retirement planning in spite of the pandemic’s negative economic effects on their businesses. Further, it appears they feel retirement-ready:

• Of those with a long-term investment plan, 94% said they were somewhat confident of achieving their financial goals.
• Among the high-net-worth respondents, 94% expressed confidence about their financial plan generating the income they would need in retirement.
• In the mass affluent group, 82% said they were somewhat confident about having the retirement income they’d need from their financial plans.

The TD Wealth survey also showed that together, retirement savings and investment portfolios comprised more than half of the retirement income across all survey respondents.

Get Retirement Ready with Self-Directed Retirement Plans

Savvy business owners already know a lot about running their businesses and are already comfortable making decisions that affect their operations every day. They could be building a diverse retirement portfolio with a range of alternative assets they also know a lot about—and make their own investment decisions regarding those assets—with a self-directed retirement plan.

Business owners may open several types of self-directed retirement plans based on their business situations, with all having the same benefits as their traditional counterparts but with added advantages—the ability to include nontraditional investments they already know and understand, and create a hedge against stock market volatility.

SEP IRA: SEP stands for Simplified Employee Pension plan; it’s an easy, flexible, option if you are self-employed, or a partner or owner of a corporation with 25 or fewer employees.

SIMPLE IRA: For larger companies of up to 100 employees, the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees enables employers to make contributions towards their retirement as well as their employees’ retirement.

Solo 401k: The individual/solo 401(k) is for sole proprietors who employ only themselves, their spouse, or partners. It has deduction and contribution benefits similar to a regular 401(k).

At Next Generation, we offer free education to help individuals make informed decisions about which type of self-directed retirement plan to open—including Traditional and Roth IRAs as well as health savings accounts (HSAs) and education savings accounts (ESAs). We always recommend you speak to a trusted financial or tax advisor who knows your specific financial situation to determine if, as a business owner, a SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or Solo(k) will be the plan to help you meet your financial goals.

Once you decide which type of account to open, we make it easy with our starter kits and detailed instructions for funding a new account. As a self-directed investor the rest is up to you—selecting and researching the alternative assets you wish to include, conducting your full due diligence on each investment, and then providing Next Generation with instructions to execute the transaction.

If you are interested in learning more about self-direction as a retirement strategy, please sign up for a complimentary educational session with one of our representatives. Alternatively, you may contact our team directly via phone at 1.888.857.8058 or email NewAccounts@NextGenerationTrust.com.

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

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.

The SECURE Act and Self-Directed Retirement Plans

The SECURE Act, signed into law on December 20, 2019, is comprehensive legislation written to expand retirement savings, simplify existing rules, preserve retirement income, and improve plan administration. SECURE stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement.

The bill mostly makes significant changes to workplace retirement plans; other provisions affect retirement plans in general, including self-directed IRAs. Here is a look at some of the changes, effective January 1, 2020.

Individuals

For those who own a self-directed Traditional or Roth IRA:

• Increase in RMD age for Traditional IRAs – The required minimum distribution age is now 72. Individuals who turn 70½ in 2020 would not be required to take a minimum distribution until April 1^st of the year in which they turn 72. This only applies to individuals who turn 72 in 2020 or later.
• Contribute to your Traditional IRA longer – Workers age 70½ and older with earned income may now continue contributing to a Traditional IRA—and continue building up retirement savings. This only applies to individuals who are turning 70½ in 2020 and later.
• Tax penalty exemption for birth or adoption of a child – For a qualified birth or adoption, the account holder can withdraw a total of $5,000 as an early distribution without the 10% penalty, when the distribution occurs within one year of the event. Income taxes still apply.
• Graduate student IRA contributions – Certain payments to graduate and postdoctoral students will be treated as earned income for IRA contribution purposes.
• No more stretch IRAs – The lifetime distribution option for certain non-spousal IRA beneficiaries is now eliminated and most non-spouse inheritors who are more than 10 years younger than the deceased IRA owner will be required to take all distributions within 10 years. Exceptions include beneficiaries who, at the time of the account owner’s death, are:
  • Disabled or have certain chronic illnesses
  • Within 10 years of the decedent’s age
  • Minors (10-year payout period begins upon reaching the age of majority)
  • Recipients of certain annuitized payments begun before enactment of the SECURE Act.

Business Owners

For business owners who have a SEP IRA, Solo 401k, or other qualified retirement plan:

• Longer deadline to establish a plan – Now employers may establish a qualified plan as late as their business tax filing deadline, including extensions, rather than the last day of the company’s business year. This extension will not apply to certain plan provisions.
• Increase in small-employer plan startup credit – Up to $5,000 per year, effective for 2020 and later taxable years, for employers with up to 100 employees over a three-year period beginning after December 31, 2019. The credit applies to SEP, SIMPLE, 401(k), and profit-sharing plans.
• Automatic enrollment credit – Employers that include an automatic enrollment feature in their new or existing small 401(k) plans or SIMPLE IRA plans will get a maximum annual tax credit of $500 for each of the first three years that the plan is maintained. (Effective for 2020 and later taxable years.)
• Participation by part-time employees – Employees who work at least 500 hours over three consecutive 12-month periods (and who satisfy the plan’s minimum age requirement) must be offered participation in the employer’s 401(k) plan.

All SECURE provisions have tax consequences for individuals and plan sponsors. As always, the team at Next Generation strongly recommends you consult your trusted advisor regarding how the SECURE Act provisions may affect your specific tax situation.

Secure a more diverse retirement portfolio through self-direction

In light of the recent changes, consider including alternative assets within a self-directed retirement plan. Those who are comfortable making their own investment decisions and who understand certain nontraditional investments can build up their retirement savings—and hedge against stock market volatility—with such assets as real estate, precious metals, private equity, hedge funds, private notes, and more.

At Next Generation, we’re here to answer your questions about self-direction as a retirement wealth-building strategy, or how certain provisions of SECURE may affect your self-directed retirement plan. You can arrange a complimentary educational session with one of our representatives, or contact us directly at 888.857.8058 or NewAccounts@NextGenerationTrust.com for more information.