"Think your business is too small to afford a 401(k) plan for your employees? Think again.
As a small business, your options now include setting up and managing your 401(k) plan in-house with the help of software like 401(k) Easy, or using an Internet-only plan like Fidelity Investments' e401(k) to set up and monitor your 401(k) plan entirely online.
Both are affordable alternatives to the expensive third party administrators, mutual fund companies, insurance firms or payroll providers who have traditionally set up retirement savings accounts. And both still allow you to take advantage of expert guidance - albeit online or on the phone.
Software. Software company 401(k) Pro, Inc. (www.401keasy.com) customizes its 401(k) Easy software for each client. Available by annual subscription - $495 for businesses with
2 to 4 employees, and upwards of $995 for more employees - the software includes monthly compliance tests to make sure that businesses do not violate any federal regulations in the course of running their plan. Some traditional 401(k) plan providers, however, caution against a do-it-yourself approach to 401(k) plans and say that a mistake could result in severe IRS penalties for your business.
Jim Gilbert, president of 401(k) Pro, and who has spent 15 years designing and running
401(k) Pro grams for small businesses, disagrees. "It's like accounting with Quicken software," he says. "You can only fudge the results of your 401(k) Easy program if you're looking to."
401 (k) Easy also offers monthly participant statements and an unlimited choice of no-load funds (funds that carry no sales charges) and participant-directed discount brokerage accounts from companies like Charles Schwab and TD Waterhouse. You also get seven hours of free telephone customer support from
401(k) Pro on how to implement your plan, and online help is always cost free.
