If you’re self-employed, you have several retirement plan options available to you as an individual or small business owner. But probably the best of the lot is the Solo 401(k). It has similar advantages to the traditional, employer-sponsored 401(k) plans available to large companies. However, it brings with it even more benefits, because you’re self-employed.

How a Solo 401(k) Plan Works

A Solo 401(k) plan is essentially a 401(k) for a self-employed individual. But there are several features of the plan that distinguish it from the larger, employer-based 401(k) plans. These include:

• Since you are the business owner, you act as both employer and employee on the plan.
• A Solo 401(k) plan is just for the owner of the business and the owner’s spouse; it is not available for employees of the business.
• The amount of contributions that you can make to a Solo 401(k) are generally more generous than they will be for an employee participant in typical large company 401(k) plans.
• You can set up a Solo 401(k) even if you are an independent contractor or a freelancer.

As an employee of the business, contribution limits to a solo 401(k) plan are exactly the same as they are for a traditional 401(k) plan. You can contribute up to 100% of your salary or up to the contribution limit, whichever is greater. The current contribution limit for 2017 is $18,000 of your salary, or up to $24,000 if you’re age 50 or older.

But since you are also the employer in the solo plan, you can also contribute as much as 25% of your net income to the plan as a profit-sharing contribution. (See IRS examples of the employer matching contribution — it varies by business entity.)

One other important point about the solo 401(k) plan is that you must make your contributions to the plan no later than the end of the calendar year. That means that you must make your contribution no later than December 31 in order for the contribution to be deductible for the tax year in question. This is unlike contributions to IRA plans, which allow you to make deductions up until the filing deadline for the preceding tax year.

Read More: Why Your Roth IRA Should Be Used for Retirement and Nothing Else

Simplicity of Administration

One of the biggest advantages of a Solo 401(k) is that you can essentially set it up similar to a self-directed IRA. That means that you are free to choose your investment trustee. You can also select a discount investment broker. This will provide you with an opportunity for unlimited investments and very low fees.

This is unlike many traditional 401(k) plans, which often limit your investment options to a few mutual funds and charge high plan fees.

Very Generous Contributions

As I noted above, with the Solo 401(k) you can make both employee and employer contributions. So, let’s say you’re self-employed as a sole proprietor and report your income and expenses on Schedule C of your income tax return. If your net income from the business is $100,000, you can contribute $18,000 as an employee. But then you can also contribute 25% of the net profit as employer.

This means that your total contribution could reach $43,000!

That’s an enormous retirement contribution based on a $100,000 income. Let’s say you’re in the 25% tax bracket for federal income tax purposes. In that case, a $43,000 contribution will result in a tax savings of $10,750.

This is much more generous than other types of self-employed retirement plans. For example, let’s take the contribution scenario above. In it, you are contributing 43% of your income to your retirement plan using the Solo 401(k). Under an SEP IRA your contribution would be limited to 20% of the same income, or $20,000. (The SEP IRA provides for a deduction equal to 25% of your net income, after the deduction for the contribution is removed from your income... That means that the net contribution to a SEP IRA is effectively limited to 20% of your income.)

Under a SIMPLE IRA, your contribution limit is even lower. The maximum contribution that you can make as an employee is $12,500. (This bumps up to $15,500 if you are age 50 or older.) SIMPLE IRAs also provide for an employer match. As employer in the business, you can provide either a 3% matching contribution, or a 2% non-elective contribution (up to $5,000). That means that your total contribution to the plan is limited to a total maximum of $20,500 per year.

And, of course, a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA limits your annual contribution to $5,500, or $6,500 if you are 50 or older.

The maximum contribution to any and all tax-sheltered retirement plans, including the Solo 401(k) plan, is $54,000 for 2017. However, with a Solo 401(k) plan, you can reach that maximum much more quickly than you can with other self-employed retirement plans.

There is one important limitation pertaining to S corporations: distributions paid from an S corporation are considered dividends, and are therefore not considered earned income. For this reason, you cannot make contributions to a Solo 401(k) plan that include your distributions from the S Corp.

You Can Add a Solo Roth 401(k) to the Mix

Just as with a traditional 401(k), you can allocate part of the plan to a Solo Roth 401(k) plan. That will enable you to allocate up to $5,500 of your employee contribution to the Roth portion. If you are age 50 or older, up to $6,500 can go toward the Roth portion. The remainder of your allowed contribution will go into the regular portion of your Solo 401(k) plan.

The employer matching portion can only go into the regular part of your Solo 401(k), and not the Roth portion.

You Can Include Your Spouse

Although a Solo 401(k) is intended for the owner of the business, and not any employees, the owner can nonetheless include his or her spouse in the plan. Your spouse can make contributions based on his or her earnings from the business.

For example, let’s say that you have an S corporation. You take a salary of $50,000 per year, and your spouse takes an equal amount. You can each make a contribution of up to $18,000 on your respective salaries. As employer, you can then match up to 25% of the same amount.

Converting the Solo 401(k) to a Traditional 401(k)

Most businesses start out as one-person affairs. The owner starts out working for himself and only adds employees as the business grows.

One of the major advantages of a Solo 401(k) plan is that it can easily be converted to a traditional 401(k) plan as soon as you begin adding employees. This is where it is once again important to remember that a Solo 401(k) plan is simply a traditional 401(k) plan for a self-employed person.

When you start adding staff, you can easily convert your Solo 401(k) to a traditional plan. As you do, you can enable your employees to participate in the plan. That’s a big advantage, because offering a 401(k) plan — particularly as a small business — is an attractive advantage for drawing potential talent. Many employees prefer to work in a business where they will be covered by a retirement plan. With the Solo 401(k), you will already have a plan in place when that day comes.

Read More: What to Do When Your Employer’s Retirement Plan Stinks

Given all the benefits that you can get from a Solo 401(k), this is one self-employed retirement plan that’s well worth considering when the time comes to add a retirement plan to your business.

If you’re self-employed, do you utilize the Solo 401(k)? How would it change the way you save for retirement?

Topics: Retirement Planning

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