Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) Plan

What Is a SEP Plan?

The SEP plan is a retirement savings plan that an employer or a self-employed person can establish. The company can deduct contributions to a SEP IRA and discretionary contributions to each qualifying employee's plan.

Furthermore, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, approved on December 20, 2019, provides a tax credit to small firms to defray the expenses of establishing a 401(k) plan or SIMPLE IRA with auto-enrollment. This is in addition to the startup credit they currently get.

It allows employers to make contributions on behalf of their employees, and employees are not taxed on these contributions until they withdraw the money from the account.

How It Works

Employers establish SEP plans, and employees are automatically enrolled in the plan. Employer payments are provided at the employer's discretion; employees are not obligated to contribute to the plan.

For taxation reasons, SEP IRAs are regarded similarly to ordinary IRAs and offer the same investment possibilities. The same transfer and rollover rules that apply to regular IRAs also apply to SEP IRAs.

An employer can deduct the contributions to SEP IRA accounts from its taxes. Additionally, the company is not obligated to donate yearly; decisions regarding whether to contribute and how much to provide each year are flexible.

The choice of investments is not up to the employer. Instead, the individual employee account owners make precise investment selections, and the IRA trustee chooses the qualifying investments.

The trustee also sends yearly statements, deposits donations, and submits all necessary paperwork to the IRS.

Establishing SEP Plan

When establishing a SEP Plan, the following are the things you need to take into consideration:

Eligibility

Eligible employees who are at least 21 years old, make at least $650 in 2022 or $750 in 2023, and have worked for at least three of the previous five years, are generally permitted to participate.

3 of 5 Rule

You must enroll any employee in your plan who has worked for you for three of the previous five years as long as the employee has satisfied the other plan eligibility requirements. The most stringent eligibility condition that is permitted is this one. 

You can decide to apply less stringent participation requirements in your plan, such as enabling employees to sign up as soon as they begin working or following a shorter period of employment.

When applying the 3-of-5 rule, all labor, regardless of how small, over the previous five years must be considered. Instead of years depending on the date the individual began working for you, use plan years (typically the calendar year).

Setting Up

Opening a SEP IRA account is simple. Selecting a provider for your account is the first step. 

The IRS then lists three procedures for establishing a SEP IRA:

1. Make a formal agreement in writing. You can accomplish this through your account provider or IRS Form 5305-SEP.
2. Give your qualified workers a copy of IRS Form 5305-SEP or any information regarding the SEP-IRA obtained from your account provider.
3. Set up unique SEP IRAs with the account provider for each qualified employee.

Contribution Limits

You are only permitted to make the smaller of the following annual payments to each employee's SEP-IRA:

1. 25% of the total amount paid, or
2. $61,000 for 2022 or $66,000 for 2023.
   

All defined contribution plans, including SEPs that you make contributions to on behalf of your workers, are subject to these restrictions.

You can only contribute up to the first cap, or 25% of each qualifying employee's pay. The maximum compensation that can be used to determine your 25 percent cap in 2022 is $305,000 ($330,000 in 2023).

You cannot contribute using property; all contributions must be provided in cash.

Investment Choices

You can invest the money you put into your SEP IRA when you set it up. The same investing guidelines apply to SEP IRAs as to ordinary IRAs.

For instance, this indicates that you:

• Unable to invest in treasures like artwork or antiques.
• Possibly unable to use your money for real estate investments.
• If your account is still active, you shouldn't record losses and gains on your tax returns.
  

Various mutual funds, equities, bonds, ETFs, and FDIC-insured CDs are available for investment.

Your choices for investments may be influenced by the following:

• Age
• Age of intended retirement
• Risk acceptance

For instance, if you're younger, you could be more ready to invest in stocks and take a risk. However, if you're nearing retirement, you might wish to invest in bonds.

Pros and Cons of SEP Plans

You should know several advantages and disadvantages of SEP plans before deciding if this is the right retirement savings plan for your small business.

Pros

• Allows business owners to make larger contributions than other retirement plans, such as a SIMPLE IRA or 401(k) with a high contribution ceiling of $61,000 or more in 2022 ($66,000 for 2023).
• Easy to administrate and set up.
• Having both a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA is allowed.
• Contributions, including those made to employee accounts, are tax-deductible.
• You are not required to make a yearly contribution.
• Contributions can be made on a pre-tax or post-tax basis.
• Employees are immediately 100% vested in their SEP contributions.
• SEP plans have low setup and maintenance costs.

Cons

• Not all small businesses are eligible to set up a SEP plan.
• A catch-up contribution is not available to savers over 50.
• There is no Roth version, so you cannot choose a Roth IRA, allowing you to pay contributions taxes now and receive distributions tax-free in retirement.
• You must make equivalent contributions for each qualifying employee if you contribute on your behalf.
• At age 73, SEP IRAs must start taking minimum distributions, much like ordinary IRAs and 401(k)s.
• Similar to a regular IRA, distributions made before age 59 1/2 are taxed as income and are subject to a 10 percent penalty unless one of the exclusions for early withdrawals applies.
  

Key Takeaways

A SEP IRA is a retirement savings plan for small business owners and self-employed individuals.

Under a SEP IRA, employers can make contributions on behalf of their employees, up to 25% of each employee's pay or $61,000 in 2022 ($66,000 for 2023), whichever is less.

The advantages of setting up a SEP IRA include making larger contributions than other retirement plans, easy administration, and tax-deductible contributions.

There are also some disadvantages, such as the lack of employee portability and required employer contributions.

When setting up a SEP IRA, consider all the pros and cons to see if it is the right retirement savings plan for your small business.

FAQs

1. What is a SEP IRA?

It is a retirement savings plan for small business owners and self-employed individuals. Under a SEP IRA, employers can make contributions on behalf of their employees, up to 25% of each employee's pay or $61,000 in 2022 ($66,000 for 2023), whichever is less.

2. What are the benefits of setting up a SEP IRA?

There are several advantages to setting up a SEP IRA, including making larger contributions than other retirement plans, easy administration, and tax-deductible contributions.

3. What are the drawbacks of a SEP IRA?

There are also some disadvantages, such as the lack of employee portability and required employer contributions.

4. Who is eligible to set up a SEP IRA?

Employees who are at least 21 years old, make at least $650 in 2022 or $750 in 2023, and have worked for at least three of the previous five years, must generally be permitted to participate.

5. How do I set up a SEP IRA?

You can set up a SEP IRA by selecting a provider and opening an account. Then, you must follow the three steps IRA provides to establish the plan.