For those of us who work with business owners, we buckle up our seat belts during the last quarter of the year. Buckle them up a little tighter in December, and tighter still at actual year end.
We call it the “retirement plan season”, the time when many business owners decide to set up a retirement plan before the year end deadline. We’ve “celebrated” New Year’s Eve on more than one occasion by waiting for a signed plan document to be faxed or emailed to us.
It’s not that business owners aren’t usually aware of what a qualified plan retirement plan can accomplish, but procrastination is part of human nature – and sometimes a business owner’s nature. He or she may say, “I’m going to wait until year end to put a retirement plan in place since I can still get the tax benefits for the whole year.” The owner (and maybe even the accountant) believes that setting up a retirement plan today, next month, or at year end are all the same thing.
That ain’t necessary so. There can be a real cost of waiting until the year end deadline. Here are some reasons why sooner rather the later is the time to set up a retirement plan.
1. Not enough compensation for a shareholder-employee of an S corporation.
Many owners will minimize W-2 compensation for payroll tax reasons. The balance of their income goes on their K-1s. (Not always looked on kindly by the IRS who may say that isn’t “reasonable compensation” as discussed in an earlier post, “So now what exactly is ‘reasonable compensation?’). However, only W-2 compensation can count for retirement plan purposes. Minimizing W-2 income can also minimize retirement benefits.
2. Not enough time to maximize 401(k) contributions.
Adopting a 401(k) in the latter part of the year may not give an employee enough time to maximize his or her own contributions. Remember 401(k) contributions must be elected in advance and withheld by the employer. A December plan adoption only provides December payroll as a basis for employee deferral.
3. Timely notice not given to employees.
Tax planning is a time-sensitive activity, and sometimes notices to employees must be made in order to achieve desired results. For example, an employer sponsoring a SIMPLE must give its employees notice of the plan provisions and employer contribution levels, including any plan changes, at least 60 days prior to the start of the next calendar year. An employer who does not give the requisite termination notice by November 1, 2008 means no profit sharing/401(k) plan for 2009. An employer with a SIMPLE should keep November 1, 2008 in mind if a different plan type is intended in 2009.
Timing can be everything.
