Plan Consulting

There are many possible options from which to choose when designing the right retirement plan for your company or organization. SMITH HAYES representatives specialize in creating a plan designed specifically for you. Some of the many plan designs include:

Profit Sharing Plan
A plan for employers wanting to offer a tax-deferred savings plan to employees and want flexibility to change contributions each year. The employer contributes an amount, which may vary each year, to an employee account. Contributions are discretionary and may be based on company profits.

401(k) Plan
A 401(k) plan is a feature of a Profit Sharing Plan, which also allows employees to invest pre-tax dollars in plan investment options. Employee deferrals pursuant to a salary reduction agreement with the employer are automatically deducted from salary. The employer may match some or all of the employee contributions.

Individual 401(k) Plan
This plan is a one-person 401(k) plan. This plan is primarily designed for sole proprietorships and nonprofit entities that employ owners and their immediate family members who desire to maximize pretax retirement contributions with flexibility.

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
SEP plans are intended for employers who want a plan that is relatively simple to set up and administer. The employer makes a contribution to employees' IRAs. The employer determines the annual deductible contribution amount that applies to all plan participants. The amount can vary each year. Generally, all eligible employees must be covered by the arrangement.

SIMPLE IRA
Just as its name suggests, this is a plan for employers who want to offer a salary reduction, tax-deferred savings plan that is relatively easy and cost-effective to set-up and administer. The employer must not maintain any other type of retirement plan and employ fewer than 100 people. The employer must contribute to the SIMPLE IRAs of eligible employees under one of two IRS prescribed formulas. Eligible employees may contribute a stated percentage of compensation per year (up to IRS limits) pursuant to a salary reduction with the employer.

457 Plan
This is a plan for state and local governments, municipalities, and entities that are tax-exempt under federal law who want to offer employees the opportunity to invest pre-tax dollars in plan investment options. Employee deferrals pursuant to a salary reduction agreement with the employer are automatically deducted from salary.

403(b) Plan
This is a plan for non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations and public educational institutions. This allows employees to invest pre-tax dollars into a mutual fund account or an annuity contract. The employer may also contribute to the account.

Defined Benefit Plan
This plan is designed to provide employees with a fixed monthly payout at retirement. This is generally a percentage of the employee’s salary, the exact amount of which is determined by the employee’s age and years of service. The employer invests the plan’s funds and bears all of the investment risk. The employer is obligated to provide the benefits, even if the plan’s investments do not perform as expected.

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan
This is a plan in which a company can enter into a contractual promise to pay benefits to a selected group of employees (usually highly compensated employees who are restricted in their contribution to a qualified plan) sometime in the future. The company can choose to finance this liability different ways depending on the specific financial characteristics of the company such as cash flow, marginal income tax rates, and plan design.