Retirement Plans for Business Owners: How to Choose the Right Strategy

If you’re a business owner or self-employed, retirement planning doesn’t come with a built-in system.

There’s no default 401(k), no automatic enrollment, just a long list of options that can feel difficult to sort through. SEP IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, SIMPLE IRAs, Safe Harbor plans… it’s easy to get stuck trying to figure out where to start.

The reality is, you don’t need to master every type of account. What matters is understanding how your situation fits into a few key decisions.

In this video, we walk through a simple framework for choosing the right plan, including:

• Whether you have employees (and how that changes your options)
• How much you want to contribute each year
• Where you are in your business’s growth cycle
• When more advanced strategies may make sense

For example, owner-only businesses often benefit from flexible options like SEP IRAs or Solo 401(k)s, while businesses with employees may need more structured plans like SIMPLE IRAs or Safe Harbor 401(k)s.

As your business evolves, your retirement plan should evolve with it, moving from flexibility to structure, and eventually to more advanced strategies designed to maximize savings and tax efficiency.

If you’d like help designing a retirement plan that fits your business, Hanover Advisors can help you evaluate your options and build a strategy that works by design.