Small-business retirement plans
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When it’s time to choose a retirement plan for your business, there are a lot of moving parts to consider. It may help to start with which plan works for the number of people you will cover, since that will help narrow down your options. From there, you can compare the rest of the details.
Compare Fidelity’s small business plans
We offer retirement plans for businesses of every shape and size. Visit the following product pages for more information. If you have a separate retirement plan established and would like to invest the assets in a Fidelity brokerage account, you may be interested in an Investment-Only Retirement account.1
If you have an existing 401K plan for your employees under another provider, learn more about the support and value we can deliver with a Fidelity 401(k).
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Self-Employed 401 (k) |
SEP IRA |
Fidelity Advantage 401 (k) |
SIMPLE IRA |
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Plan Coverage |
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Self-employed individual or business owner with no employees other than a spouse |
Self-employed individual or small-business owner, primarily those with only a few employees |
Small businesses with 5 to 100 employees who want to offer a 401(k) for the first time |
Self-employed individuals or businesses with 100 or fewer employees |
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Who Contributes |
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Funded by employee deferrals and employer contributions |
Funded solely by employer contributions |
Funded by employee deferrals and employer contributions |
Funded by employee deferrals and employer contributions |
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Access to Assets |
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Cannot take withdrawals from the plan until a “trigger” event occurs, such as turning age 59½, disability, and/or plan termination |
Withdraw at any time, but a 10% penalty may apply if you are under age 59½ |
Cannot take withdrawals from the plan until a “triggering” event occurs, such as termination of employment, turning age 59½, or active military duty |
Withdraw at any time, but a 10% penalty may apply if you are under age 59½; If the withdrawal is taken within first 2 years of participation in the plan, that penalty increases to 25% |
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Contribution features |
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Employers may contribute up to 25% of compensation, up to a maximum of $61,000 in 2022 |
Easy to set up and maintain |
Safe Harbor employer matching contributions |
Salary deferral plan with less administration |
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Employees may contribute up to $20,500 for 2022 ($27,000 if 50 or older) |
Flexible annual funding requirements |
Employees may contribute up to $20,500 for 2022 ($27,000 if 50 or older). |
Electronic funding with customized contribution allocation for each participant |
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The total employer and employee contributions cannot exceed $61,000 in 2022 |
The employer may contribute between 0% and 25% of compensation up to a maximum of $58,000 for 2021 and $61,000 for 2022. Each eligible employee must receive the same percentage |
The total employer and employee contributions cannot exceed $61,000 in 2022 |
Employer contributes either a matching or a non-elective contribution |
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Participants may contribute up to 100% of compensation with a maximum of $14,000 for 2022 ($17,000 if 50 or older) |
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Fees |
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No account fees and no minimum to open an account. $0 commission for online US stocks and ETFs |
No account fees and no minimum to open an account. $0 commission for online US stocks and ETFs |
Low-cost, fixed pricing structure. No additional management fees or, with limited exceptions, fund expenses |
No account fees and no minimum to open an account. $0 commission for online US stocks and ETFs |
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Eligibility for tax credits for offering a 401(k) for the first time. |
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Citation
Fidelity. “Small-business retirement plans.” Small Business Overview, Fidelity,
https://www.fidelity.com/retirement-ira/small-business/compare-plans.