Qualified Retirement Plans
Choosing the right retirement plan for your business
Many business owners today are faced with an increasing need to provide a retirement benefit for themselves and their employees. At Raymond James, listening to you and helping you and your employees plan for retirement are top priorities. Selecting the right retirement plan for your business is a crucial step, and providing one has many benefits.
One advantage is that contributions to a retirement plan today can help you meet tomorrow’s goals of financial security. Another is that establishing a retirement plan may provide tax advantages. Still another benefit is that it can create positive employee relations, helping to attract and retain quality employees, while reducing turnover.
For many business owners, the question is not “Should I implement a retirement plan?” Rather, it is “Which plan is right for my business?” The choices are many:
- Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
- SIMPLE IRA
- Profit sharing
- Age-weighted/comparability profit sharing plans
- 401(k) profit sharing
- Safe-harbor 401(k)
- Owner only/one-person 401(k)
- Defined benefit pension
See how retirement plans stack up, and ask your advisor for more detailed information on a plan.
Benefits of retirement planning with Raymond James
Our approach is different from other investment firms in that Raymond James does not have a proprietary fund package on top of its list of retirement plan alternatives and services. We utilize what we believe to be the top providers in the retirement plan market. This allows us to maintain a more consultative approach to help our clients select the package that best fits the needs of their businesses. In addition, we work with many professional plan administration firms within the industry, so we can help provide solutions to more complex plan designs or compliance needs that may arise with a customized plan.
Prototype plans
We offer the small business a variety of retirement plan options. Our prototype plans are easy to adopt and maintain. Raymond James currently offers profit sharing and 401(k) profit sharing prototype plans. Raymond James provides automatic updates of prototype plans, making it simple and inexpensive to keep your plan up-to-date with any tax law changes.
Asset protection
This firm is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 of net equity protection, including $250,000 for claims for cash awaiting reinvestment. Please visit sipc.org for more information about SIPC coverage.
Raymond James has purchased excess SIPC coverage through various syndicates of Lloyd’s, a London-based firm. Excess SIPC is fully protected by the Lloyd’s trust funds and Lloyd’s Central Fund. The additional protection currently provided has an aggregate firm limit of $750 million, including a sub-limit of $1.9 million per customer for cash above basic SIPC for the wrongful abstraction of customer funds.
Account protection applies when an SIPC-member firm fails financially and is unable to meet obligations to securities clients, but it does not protect against market fluctuations.
Investment flexibility
A Raymond James account allows contributions to be invested in a wide range of investment alternatives.
Professional service
Our financial advisors have the training and expertise to assist you in choosing the retirement plan for your business and the investment strategies for your plan.
Conclusion
What is the right retirement plan for your business? The retirement plans discussed here illustrate that there are a wide variety of choices available to you as a business owner. With help from your financial advisor – a professional committed to your needs – you can choose the plan that best suits your business retirement plan needs and objectives. Of course, we cannot offer legal advice to clients. Before implementing any plan, you should consult with your tax and/or legal advisors.
For more information about any of the qualified retirement plans mentioned here, please contact your Raymond James financial advisor or use the convenient Office Locator to find our office(s) nearest you.