Individual
401(k) plan
For small-business owners
Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York
with an individual 401(k)
As a business owner, it’s up to you to implement a strategy to save
money for your retirement.
There’s a retirement plan that’s designed specifically for business owners who would like to make the most of their retirement saving opportunity. An individual 401(k) gives small-business owners the chance to take advantage of many of the same benefits that employees of larger firms enjoy in their 401(k) plans. You don’t have to choose between a plan with limited features or one with significant administrative requirements. The individual 401(k) offers you a wide array of benefits combined with simplified plan management.
An individual 401(k) offers
small-business owners a wide
array of benefits and simplified
plan management.
This document is designed to provide general information on the subjects covered. Pursuant to IRS Circular 230, it is not, however, intended to provide specific legal or tax advice and cannot be used to avoid tax penalties or to promote, market, or recommend any tax plan or arrangement. Please note that Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz), Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York (Allianz Life® of NY), their affiliated companies, and their representatives and employees do not give
legal or tax advice. You are encouraged to consult your tax advisor or attorney.
• Not FDIC insured • May lose value • No bank or credit union guarantee • Not a deposit • Not insured by any federal government agency or NCUA/NCUSIF
Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. www.allianzlife.com. In New York, products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, One Chase Manhattan Plaza, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10005-1423. www.allianzlife.com/newyork/. Only Allianz
Flexibility in determining contributions
Once your individual 401(k) plan is established, you have total flexibility to adjust contributions each year. This means your plan can change with your company’s cash flow situation.
Simplified administration
Unlike standard 401(k) plans, administration and paperwork requirements for an individual 401(k) plan are easy to manage. There are no annual reporting requirements with the Department of Labor until plan assets exceed $250,000. Even at that point, all that’s required is Form 5500-EZ.
Consolidate your existing plans
If you already have a plan in place, or if you have retirement savings in a previous employer’s retirement plan, those assets can easily be rolled into your new individual 401(k) plan, assuming the plan document permits this type of rollover. That makes it easier for you to keep control of your retirement savings and reduces the amount of paperwork, statements, and documents that clog your mailbox.
A focus on your retirement
An individual 401(k) is designed to help small-business owners focus on their own retirement. This plan can work for you if you and/or your spouse (in addition to any co-owners and their spouses) are the only full-time employees of your business. Contributions for a spousal employee can help increase your household retirement savings.
What is an individual 401(k)?
Stated simply, it is a retirement savings plan designed specifically to meet the needs of small-business owners who want to take full advantage of their plan contributions. If you already have a plan in place through your company, or if you are trying to determine what plan is best for you, consider these individual 401(k) advantages:
Large contribution limits
In 2012, you can contribute up to $50,000, depending on your income level. This is based on a combination of employer and employee contributions. While employer contributions are limited to an amount up to 25% of an individual’s compensation, employees also can make an elective deferral of up to $17,000 of their compensation.1 This combination allows you to defer
a significant portion of your current income into a retirement plan.
Additional contributions for those
50 and older
The closer you are to retirement, the more you know you have to get serious about putting money away for retirement. If you are age 50 or older, an individual 401(k) allows you to make a catch-up contribution each year ($5,500 in 2012). Combined with the maximum $17,000 contribution explained in the section above, you could have a total elective deferral of $22,500 in 2012. By maximizing your elective deferral, you can raise your total 401(k) contribution (including employee and employer portions) up to $55,500 in 2012.
How an individual 401(k) can put
you in charge of your retirement
1 The 25% contribution limit also applies to self-employed business owners. However, the IRS defines a self-employed person’s “compensation” in a
If you want to focus on your
retirement and take full advantage
of your higher contribution limits,
an individual 401(k) could be for you.
Until now, many small-business owners assumed that a SEP (Simplified Employee Pension – Individual Retirement Account) was the best option for retirement. But the individual 401(k) may be a better fit. Review this checklist to get an idea of which plan may offer the best opportunities for you. Be sure to talk to your financial professional to find out more.
Does an individual 401(k)
fit your company?
SEP Individual 401(k)
Key advantage Easy to set up and maintain Depending on income, permits higher contribution level than most other retirement plans.
Employer eligibility
Any employer with one or more employees
Any employer where the only full-time employees are the business owner(s) and/or spouse(s).
Employer’s role
Set up plan by completing IRS Form 5305-SEP (or other SEP IRA plan document). No annual filing requirement for employer.
No IRS form is available to establish this plan. Third party administrator typically provides plan document. Annual filing of form 5500-EZ is required once plan assets exceed $250,000. Additional reporting requirements may apply in certain situations.
Contributors
to the plan Employer contributions only Employee salary reduction contributions and/or employer contributions. Maximum1 annual contribution (per participant) Up to 25% of compensation or a maximum of $50,000 in 2012
Employee elective deferral: $17,000 for 2012
Catch-up contribution for age 50 and older: $5,500 for 2012 Employer contribution: Up to 25% of compensation Total contributions for under age 50: $50,000 in 2012 Total contributions for 50 and older: $55,500 in 2012 Contributor’s
options
Employer can decide whether to make contributions year to year.
Employee can elect how much to contribute pursuant to a salary reduction agreement. The employer can determine the level of employer contributions on a year-to-year basis.
Minimum employee coverage requirements
Must be offered to all employees who are at least 21 years of age, employed by the employer for three of the last five years, and had earned income of $550 for 2012.
Generally, must be offered to all employees at least 21 years of age who worked at least 1,000 hours in a previous year. Remember that a business does not qualify for an individual 401(k) unless the only full-time employees are the business owner(s) and spouse(s).
Vesting Contributions are immediately 100% vested.
Employee salary deferrals are immediately 100% vested.
Employer contributions may vest over time according to plan terms.
Other
No Roth options No loan options Certain 72(t) exceptions favor IRA type plans Distributions always available
May have Roth option May have loan privilege
Certain 72(t) exceptions favor 401(a) type plans Distributions limited by plan provisions
1A self-employed individual may be able to contribute more with an individual 401(k) than with a SEP IRA at the same income level.
1. Who are the full-time employees of your company?
To be eligible for an individual 401(k), only the following people can be full-time employees of your company:
• You • Your spouse
• Co-owners of the business • Spouses of any co-owners
Other types of employees can generally be excluded from the plan by plan document provisions, including: • Individuals under age 21
• Employees working less than 1,000 hours per year • Union employees
• Nonresident aliens
If you are not eligible to establish an individual 401(k) plan because you have other employees, you may want to adopt a regular 401(k) plan. Discuss this with your tax advisor.
2. Do you plan to maintain this status in the near future?
The individual 401(k) may not make sense for your situation if you are planning to add more employees to your company soon.
Once you’ve determined that your business is eligible for an individual 401(k), you and your tax advisor and financial professional can discuss whether an individual 401(k) might fit your specific situation.
A simple test of whether your company
qualifies for an individual 401(k)
How an individual 401(k) works
for a sole proprietor
Sara Wilson is an independent real estate agent. She has been in business for several years, but her only retirement contributions to this point have been to an IRA. Sara, age 45, earns approximately $200,000 per year and needs to take her retirement more seriously. As a sole proprietor, Sara knows she has some different options to consider, but her main focus now is to put as much money into her retirement plan as possible. Since she is an independent agent, she has no plans to add employees. So she decides that an individual 401(k) gives her the best potential to make the most of her retirement savings while also reducing current taxable income.
The individual 401(k) allows Sara to put $50,000 to work in her retirement plan (based on her $200,000 annual income) for 2012. Note that, since she is self-employed, her income limits her employer contribution to $40,000, which would also be her maximum SEP IRA contribution. However, she can reach $50,000 by also making salary deferral contributions.
In addition, she will be able to take advantage of catch-up provisions in the plan once she reaches age 50.
If she works for 20 more years, Sara will be able to defer more than $1,000,000 into her individual 401(k), based on current contribution limits.
Benefits for Sara:
• The annual contributions provide current income tax savings for Sara.
• Sara saves for retirement and builds her nest egg with an individual 401(k).
How an individual 401(k) works
for a small corporation
Fred and Betty Samuels operate a sales company set up as an S corporation. They have always been the only full-time employees in the company, but do hire students to provide occasional support, though none works more than an average of 15 hours a week. Both Fred and Betty are in their mid-50s, and maximizing retirement savings is clearly a top priority.
Fred earns a salary of $100,000, while Betty is paid $75,000. They are concerned not just with building more retirement savings, but managing their tax burden as well, which has become more significant given their company’s success.
They decide to implement an individual 401(k) for their company. Between the two of them, Fred and Betty will be able to save the following amounts in 2012:
Benefits for Fred and Betty:
• All contributions are tax-deductible, helping to reduce their personal tax liability. S corporation profits flow through to the owners’ tax return.
• Their retirement nest egg can grow each year as they make contributions.
• Part-time employees (working less than 1,000 hours per year) are not required to be included as part of the individual 401(k) plan, as long as the plan document so provides.
Employee Company contribution Salary deferral Catch-up contribution Total Fred $25,000 $17,000 $5,500 $47,500 Betty $18,750 $17,000 $5,500 $41,250
Total $88,750
Your small business must work with a third party administrator (TPA) to establish and administer the plan. The TPA will charge fees for this service. Once the 401(k) plan is established, it can offer a variety of investment and funding options. You may be interested in purchasing an annuity with some or all of your account balance. Annuities are insurance products which are unique in that they can offer guaranteed income for life. (Note that it may be necessary to roll the annuity into an IRA to directly receive the guaranteed income for life, since the plan must own the annuity and annuity or income payments would be made to the plan as owner.) This can help ensure a secure retirement. You should discuss this with your tax advisor and financial advisor.
You must follow the contract terms, which could mean you must save in other 401(k) investments until you meet contract minimums.
Should your plan purchase an annuity on your behalf, the annuity is titled this way:
Owner: Individual 401(k) plan
Annuitant: Employee
Death beneficiary: Individual 401(k) plan
As the plan participant, you will designate a beneficiary to receive your plan benefit when you die. If you are married, your plan beneficiary must be your spouse, unless your spouse provides written notarized consent to name another beneficiary. When you die, the plan will collect the annuity proceeds and distribute your plan benefit to your designated plan beneficiary according to plan terms.
Should your plan purchase an Allianz or Allianz Life of NY annuity, the plan trustee (usually the business owner) will also have to sign a Qualified Plan Acknowledgement Form (USA-337 or USA-337-NY for variable annuities or S2236 for fixed and fixed index annuities).
Using your individual 401(k) to provide
lifetime retirement income
Purchasing an annuity in a retirement plan that provides tax deferral under sections of the Internal Revenue Code results in no additional tax benefit. An annuity should be used to fund an IRA or other qualified plan based on the annuity’s features other than tax deferral. These include guaranteed lifetime income and death benefit options. Other factors to consider include fees, expenses, charges, risks, and limitations that may be associated with an annuity.
Like most small-business owners, you work hard for the opportunity to make your financial dreams come true. Finding the right retirement plan can play a critical role in determining whether your vision for retirement becomes a reality.
Your tax advisor and financial professional can help you take full advantage of your retirement saving potential with an individual 401(k) plan. The combination of significant current tax advantages and larger retirement plan contributions may be a perfect fit for your needs.
Talk to your financial professional
(R-7/2012)
Guarantees are backed solely by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York. Variable annuity guarantees do not apply to the performance of the variable subaccounts, which will fluctuate with market conditions.
• Not FDIC insured • May lose value • No bank or credit union guarantee • Not a deposit • Not insured by any federal government agency or NCUA/NCUSIF
Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. www.allianzlife.com. In New York, products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, One Chase Manhattan Plaza, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10005-1423. www.allianzlife.com/newyork/. Only Allianz Life
Insurance Company of New York is authorized to offer annuities and life insurance in the state of New York. Variable products are distributed by their affiliate, Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC, member FINRA, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. www.allianzlife.com
As leading providers of annuities and life insurance, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) and its subsidiary, Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York (Allianz Life® of NY), base each decision on a philosophy of being true: True to our strength as an important part of a leading global financial organization. True to our passion for making wise investment decisions. And true to the people we serve, each and every day.
Through a line of innovative products and a network of trusted financial professionals, Allianz and Allianz Life of NY together help people as they seek to achieve their financial and retirement goals. Founded in 1896, Allianz, together with Allianz Life of NY, is proud to play a vital role in the success of our global parent, Allianz SE, one of the world’s largest financial services companies.
