Benefits of a SIMPLE IRA

Although many employers allow workers to save for retirement using qualified retirement plans, such as a 401(k), 403(b), or 457, these plans have rules that can be cumbersome for both employers and employees.

Some small businesses instead choose SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match for Employees of Small Employers) IRAs. These plans have fewer rules, are much less complicated to administer, and offer key benefits.

As with other types of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and employer-sponsored retirement plans, SIMPLE IRAs allow employees to defer a portion of their salaries into these plans. The money grows tax-deferred until distributions are taken at retirement. This allows savings to compound more quickly.

Easier to Run

SIMPLE IRAs do not require most of the bureaucracy that comes with qualified plans, such as non-discrimination and top-heavy testing, vesting schedules, and tax reporting at the plan level. SIMPLE IRAs are relatively easy to set up and run, and employers don’t need to hire specially trained staff.

Mandatory, Instant Vesting

Matching employer contributions belong to the employee immediately and can go with them whenever they leave, regardless of tenure. Employer match contributions in qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, usually come with either a cliff or graded vesting schedule that requires employees to stay with at the company for a specified number of years before they own all matching contributions.

What’s more, employers who set up SIMPLE IRAs are required by law to match employee contributions. This is not required for qualified plans; employers can choose to offer no match.

Contribution Limits

For 2020 and 2021, employees can defer up to $13,500 of income to a SIMPLE IRA with another $3,000 in catch-up contributions if they are 50 or older. 

This is less than the $19,500 per year contribution limit for a 401(k) or another qualified plan for 2020 and 2021 as well as the $6,500 catch-up limit permitted. But it’s more than the $6,000 contribution and $1,000 catch-up limit for an IRA for 2020 and 2021.

Tax Credit for Employers

President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act in late 2019. The act gives tax incentives to small businesses who set up automatic enrollment in retirement plans for its workers or allows them to join multiple employer plans (MEPs). With an MEP, employers can band together with other companies to offer retirement accounts to their employees. The bill also eliminates the maximum age cap for contributions to traditional individual retirement accounts.

Under the SECURE Act, small businesses can receive a tax credit to offset the costs of starting a 401(k) plan or SIMPLE IRA plan with auto-enrollment. This tax credit is in addition to the start-up credit they already receive, which is 50% of necessary eligible start-up costs, up to a maximum of $500 per year for the first three years of the plan.

Employers can qualify for the credit if they had 100 or fewer employees who received at least $5,000 in compensation for the preceding year and at least one plan participant who was not a highly compensated employee, and if the same employees weren’t recently covered by similar plans.

Tax Credit for Employee Contributions

Employees whose adjusted gross income falls below a certain limit may be eligible to take a non-refundable savers credit for up to $2,000 of contributions each year.

The saver’s credit offers eligible low-income and lower-middle-income individuals a tax credit of up to $1,000 ($2,000 if married filing jointly) if they contributed to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Single Tax Filers

Single taxpayers are ineligible if their adjusted-gross-income (AGI) exceeds $32,500 in 2020 and $33,000 in 2021. The income limit for married taxpayers is $65,000 in 2020 and $66,000 in 2021.

However, you can get the 50% credit (the maximum credit) if you’re a single tax filer and have an adjusted gross income of less than $19,500 in 2020 and $19,750 in 2021. If your income is higher but still below the maximum income limits of $32,500 in 2020 or $33,000 for 2021, you’ll receive a reduced credit, based on your income for the year.

Married Tax Filers

For married couples filing jointly, you can get the 50% credit (the maximum credit) if your income is less than $39,000 in 2020 and $39,500 in 2021. Again, the credit phases out as your income increases above those levels until you reach the maximum income limits of $65,000 for 2020 and $66,000 for 2021.

Multiple Investment Choices

SIMPLE IRA contributions can be invested in “individual stocks, mutual funds, and similar types of investments,” according to the IRS. Many plans offer growth, growth and income, income, and specialized funds such as sector funds or target-date funds.

While salary deferral contributions to a SIMPLE IRA are not subject to income tax withholding, they are subject to tax under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), and the Railroad Retirement Act (RRTA). Employer matching and non-elective contributions are not subject to FICA, FUTA, or RRTA taxes.