This month’s article comes from Monica Stanley.  Monica is a financial advisor for families and small business owners with Edward Jones.  She discusses why women business owners need retirement plans.

If you’re a woman who owns a business, you’ve got plenty of company. In fact, women own more than 10 million U.S. companies, and women-owned businesses account for about 40% of all privately held firms in the U.S., according to the Center for Women’s Business Research. Clearly, the good news is that women are entering the small-business arena at a rapid pace. The not-so-good news is that women may be facing a retirement savings gap in comparison to male business owners.

To get a sense of this gap, consider these statistics:

• According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, 19.4% of male business owners have 401(k) or similar plans, compared with just 15.5% of women owners.

• The percentage of female business owners with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) is about the same as that of male business owners — but the men have more money in their accounts. The average woman’s IRA balance is about $51,000, compared with $91,000 for men, according to a recent report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Although these figures change constantly with the ebbs and flow of the market, the difference between the genders remains significant.

One way to help close this savings gap, of course, is to set up a retirement plan for your business. But for many women business owners (and male owners, too), the perceived cost of setting up and running a retirement plan has been an obstacle. However, the retirement plan market has opened up considerably for small business owners over the past several years, so you might be surprised at the ease and inexpensiveness of administering a quality plan that can help you build resources for your own retirement — and help you attract and retain good employees.

With the help of a financial professional, you can consider some of the myriad of plans that may be available to you:

• Owner-only 401(k) — This plan, which is also known as an individual 401(k), is available to self-employed individuals and business owners with no full-time employees other than themselves or a spouse. You may even be able to choose a Roth option for your 401(k), which allows you to make after-tax contributions that can grow tax-free.

• SEP IRA — If you have just a few employees or are self-employed with no employees, you may want to consider a SEP IRA. You’ll fund the plan with tax-deductible contributions, and you must cover all eligible employees.
  Solo defined benefit plan — Pension plans, also known as defined benefit plans, are still around — and you can set one up for yourself if you are self-employed or own your own business. This plan has high contribution limits, which are determined by an actuarial calculation, and as is the case with other retirement plans, your contributions are typically tax-deductible.

• SIMPLE IRA — A SIMPLE IRA, as its name suggests, is easy to set up and maintain, and it can be a good plan if your business has fewer than 10 employees. Still, while a SIMPLE IRA may be advantageous for your employees, it’s less generous to you, as far as allowable contributions, than an owner-only 401(k), a SEP IRA or a defined benefit plan.

As a business owner, you spend a lot of time thinking about what needs to be done today, but you don’t want to forget about tomorrow — so consider putting a retirement plan to work for you soon.

As the youngest daughter of small business owners, Monica learned the value and reward of leading a successful business as well as the importance of family.  Monica earned a bachelors degree in Management from Northwood University.  In assisting you to get your financial house in order serving as your financial advisor you can think of her as your personal CFO.  She will help you develop a financial strategy and make wise financial decisions.  You can reach Monica at 817.590.1622.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to us about estate planning please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact Euless, Texas Estate Planning Attorney, Antoinette Bone, at (817) 462-5454 or email info@abonelaw.com.

To comply with the U.S. Treasury regulations, we must inform you that (i) any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this newsletter was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal tax penalties that may be imposed on such person and (ii) each taxpayer should seek advice from their tax advisor based on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances.

Nothing in this message is intended to provide legal advice.  This message is for educational purposes only.