Self-employed retirement plans Augusta-Richmond County, GA. The flexibility of owning your own business in Augusta-Richmond County, GA is one of the greatest advantages of being self-employed. That said, this flexibility can come with certain challenges, especially in terms of planning for retirement, since you don't have the benefit of a workplace retirement plan. Only 13% of self-employed individuals have a workplace retirement plan, yet countless should consider exploring their options. In addition to enjoying a more secure retirement, working with a financial advisor in Augusta-Richmond County, GA to create your self-employed retirement plan delivers significant tax advantages that allow you to move your business forward.
Few Augusta-Richmond County, GA investment consulting and retirement planning firms are as attuned to the requirements of entrepreneurs quite like Correct Capital. Our company’s founder grew up with a father who was a small business owner himself (read more of our story here), and our firm take pride in assisting business owners in their retirement planning needs. We know that your professional and personal aspirations extend well past basic numbers, and we are dedicated to offer tailored solutions aligned with your vision. Keep reading to learn more about your self-employed retirement plan options in Augusta-Richmond County, GA, or call Correct Capital at 877-930-401k or contact us online to speak with a entrepreneurial financial advisor in Augusta-Richmond County, GA today.
Why Augusta-Richmond County, GA Self-Employed Individuals Should Have a Retirement Plan
Retirement plans for self-employed individuals not only prepare you for the future, they also offer tangible benefits today. From flexible contributions to substantial tax savings, partnering with a financial advisor in Augusta-Richmond County, GA enables you to customize your retirement plan to align with your specific needs.
Flexibility That Fits Your Income
For those with fluctuating income over time, a plan like a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k) offers the freedom to modify how much you save:
- Customizable Contributions: Contribute more during high-income years and reduce savings when your earnings dip, so that your plan fits your cash flow.
- Roth Options: A Roth Solo 401(k) lets you pay taxes on contributions now, so you can withdraw without tax penalties in the future—a wise move if you believe your tax rate is likely to rise in the future.
Save Money on Taxes
Plans designed for the self-employed offer valuable tax benefits:
- Tax-Deductible Contributions: Contributions to a SIMPLE IRA shrink your tax liability, so you can keep more of your income.
- Tax-Deferred Growth: Investments grow tax-free until withdrawal, providing your money more time to compound.
- State-Specific Incentives: Depending on where you live, you may be eligible for extra deductions as a sole proprietor. These state-level incentives can make these plans even more valuable.
- Retirement Savings Contributions Credit (Saver’s Credit): Those who meet the requirements can claim a tax credit of up to 50% of the first $2,000 put into a retirement plan, helping to lower your tax bill even more.
Protect Your Savings With Smart Investments
Creating a stable future goes beyond just how much you save—it’s also determined by your investment strategy:
- Diversified Portfolios: Allocating your investments across varied stocks, bonds, and other assets can help mitigate financial risk while continuing to build your savings.
- Emergency Back-Up: Combining your retirement strategy and a business emergency fund ensures you don’t using your retirement funds during financial hardships and risking extra costs.
Plan for the Future of Your Augusta-Richmond County, GA Business
Retirement planning can assist you plan ahead for what’s next with your Augusta-Richmond County, GA business:
- Selling Your Business: For those considering a sale, accounts such as SEP IRAs or Solo 401(k)s remain your personal assets and are not part of the sale. These plans offer the steady income you’ll need during retirement. It’s important to note that while the sale of a business usually creates a capital gain, deposits into these plans are capped at annual limits (e.g., up to $7,000 for IRAs or as much as $70,000 for Solo 401(k)s, with catch-up contributions, depending on plan details).
- Minimizing Taxes: Using retirement contributions wisely can reduce the taxes you might face when you sell your business.
- Succession Planning: For those winding down or handing over their business, your nest egg ensure the funds you need through the transition. You can also seek advice from a financial advisor with expertise in succession and retirement planning to reduce taxes associated with the transaction.
With the right retirement plan, you gain control over your financial future, lower your tax bill, and build a solid base for both your retirement and your business goals.
Why Start a Self-Employed Retirement Plan in Augusta-Richmond County, GA Now?
Time remains one of the most crucial assets for building your retirement fund. Getting a head start not only helps you grow a larger nest egg but also reduces the stress of saving aggressively in the future. The following are reasons why it pays to take action now:
The Cost of Waiting
Delaying your retirement savings can have a major impact on the total you’ll have when you retire. The main reason is compound interest—the powerful process where your investments grow, and those returns, subsequently, accumulate even more returns. The greater time span your money has to grow, the larger the benefit of this growth.
Example: Taylor and Alex are both self-employed professionals. Both of them want to save $500,000 for retirement by age 65:
- Alex starts saving $5,000 annually at age 30.
- Taylor delays savings until age 40 but puts away $7,500 annually to make up for lost time.
By age 65, with an assumption of 7% annual return:
- Alex invests $180,000 and accumulates $691,184.39*.
- Taylor contributes $195,500 but accumulates just $474,367.78*.
How Early Contributions Grow
Even modest contributions invested steadily often create significant growth. Take a look at this scenario showing the impact of compounding:
- Starting at age 25: Putting aside $200 per month in a retirement plan with an average annual return of 7%, you’ll grow to approximately $497,303.29* by age 65.
- Starting at age 35: Investing the same $200 per month yields only $235,412.97* by age 65—a difference of over $260,000, just from a 10-year delay.
Saving early, the lower your annual savings needs each year to meet your retirement goals.
*These calculations are based on estimates derived from NerdWallet’s Compound Interest Calculator, assuming a 7% annual return. Annual deposits were multiplied by the number of years to estimate total contributions. The scenarios provided are meant to provide general guidance and cannot predict actual future outcomes. Actual results may vary due to variables including market conditions, fees, and individual circumstances. Always consult a financial advisor for personalized advice.
Take Control of Your Financial Future
As a self-employed person in Augusta-Richmond County, GA, it is often the case that you prioritize reinvesting in your business instead of saving for retirement. However, beginning a plan now enables you to:
- Leverage tax-deferred growth or withdrawals without taxes in the future.
- Benefit from adjustable savings that align with your cash flow.
- Create a financial cushion that ensures stability, no matter how your business evolves.
Getting started now, the less you’ll be required to worry about catching up later in life. Saving for retirement now means managing your financial future and allowing yourself the opportunity to focus on your goals—both for your retirement years and your Augusta-Richmond County, GA business.
Types of Self-Employed Retirement Plans
There are several retirement savings options designed for self-employed individuals in Augusta-Richmond County, GA, each offering its own pros and cons. A financial advisor is available to help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each option and identify the one most suitable for your needs. Typically, your self-employed retirement plan options in Augusta-Richmond County, GA consist of:
Traditional or Roth IRA
Plan Overview: Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), as explained here, represent long-term savings plans that include key tax perks. In a traditional IRA, contributions are typically tax-deductible, and returns grow free of current taxes, but money taken out during retirement are taxable. In contrast, Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax income, but eligible distributions during retirement, including earnings, are exempt from taxes. In both types of accounts, withdrawals are penalty-free provided you are at least 59½.
Eligibility: Unlike 401(k)s, which are employer-sponsored, traditional and Roth IRAs are available to anyone with an earned income.
Contribution Limits: For 2025, annual contribution limits for IRAs are capped at $7,000, or $8,000 if you're 50 or older.
Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA)
Plan Overview: A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA serves as a retirement savings option that permits entrepreneurs to save a percentage of their net business profits. Contributions are strictly employer contributions an employer, so, as a sole proprietor, you (the employee) are limited to contributions from the employer role beyond the 25% you (the employer) already contributed. If you have employees, it's required to contribute the same amount for them as you do for yourself. You have the flexibility to contribute a set monetary value or a percentage of wages to employee accounts. SEP IRAs is a good option for businesses that experience cycles of high revenue and low revenue. In contrast to some alternatives, SEP IRAs lack the high fees associated with starting or maintaining other plans.
SEPs operate like traditional IRAs, where the contributions are tax-deferred and retirement distributions are taxable.
Eligibility: Both employers and self-employed individuals can open a SEP.
Contribution Limits: Contribution limits for employees in a SEP IRA are capped at the lower of:
- 25% of compensation, or
- $70,000 for 2025
For self-employed individuals, the amount eligible to be contributed is based on a special calculation.
Solo 401(k)
Plan Overview: The Solo 401(k), commonly known as an Individual 401(k) or one-participant 401(k) plan, is a self-employed retirement plan meant for businesses without employees or if the only employee is your spouse. Solo 401(k)s function similarly to standard 401(k) plans, and let you make contributions as both an employer and an employee with pre-tax money. This allows for more savings compared to SEPs or IRAs; however, the increased savings potential may be offset by more constrained investment avenues. Using a solo 401(k), you can make either traditional or Roth deferrals, which offer the same tax benefits as their IRA contribution counterparts.
Eligibility: Solo 401(k)s are available solely to business owners and their spouses can set up and contribute to a solo 401(k).
Contribution Limits: If you are self-employed with a solo 401(k) plan, you can make two types of contributions:
- Employee contributions of up to 100% of your self-employment income, up to the annual contribution limit. For 2025, the limits will be $23,500, or $31,000 if you are 50 or older, or $34,750 for those who turn 60-63 in 2025.
- Contributions as an employer (as an employer) must not surpass 25% of your net self-employment income, which is your net profit minus half of your self-employment tax and the employee contributions you made.
Total contributions are capped at $70,000, or $77,500 for those aged 50 and older (for 2025), $81,250 if you attain age 60-63 in 2025.
Individual Defined Benefit Plan
Plan Overview: A defined benefit plan represents a type of retirement plan that provides a fixed, predetermined benefit to self-employed individuals upon retirement. In contrast to the plans discussed earlier, this plan is not influenced by market performance, but lets individuals clearly understand exactly how much they'll receive in retirement. This strategy is recommended for higher-income entrepreneurs who want to save a significant sum for retirement and are willing to make larger deposits. Contributions are tax deferred, and withdrawals are taxed as income during retirement.
Eligibility: Self-employed professionals operating a solo business or employing fewer than five people may establish an individual defined benefit plan, but it's most commonly suggested for those over 50 who earn at least $250,000 a year. In most cases, good candidates for defined benefit plans include:
- Entrepreneurs who want to invest more than $70,000 (or $77,500 for those aged 50+)
- Companies already contributing 3-4% but are open to increasing contributions
- Businesses with proven consistent profit patterns
- Business leaders over age 40 who wish to accelerate savings or accelerate the retirement savings
Contribution Limits: The contribution limit is calculated by an actuary determined by your financial situation, age, and savings targets. Contribution limits are updated yearly.
The Importance of a Financial Advisor in Augusta-Richmond County, GA for Your Self-Employed Retirement Plan
Partnering with an advisor in Augusta-Richmond County, GA experienced with retirement plans for the self-employed is an important asset for self-employed individuals. They offer the knowledge to assist guide you through the challenges of retirement planning and design a customized plan that reflects your aspirations. Your advisor in Augusta-Richmond County, GA will assess where you stand financially, identify your risk preferences, and guide you in choosing wisely about saving and investing for retirement. Part of what we do for you features:
- Guide you in choosing a plan that aligns with your objectives and circumstances
- Tailor the plan to your specific situation even further
- Formalize a plan in writing that complies with IRS regulations
- Organize a trust plan to manage your assets
- Help you understand the plan's terms
- Review and modify your plan as needed
- Provide ongoing education and advice throughout your retirement planning process
- Boost your retirement earnings by making the most of your social security
Self-Employed Retirement Plans in Augusta-Richmond County, GA: Correct Capital's Process
Augusta-Richmond County, GA business owners who aren’t equipped with the time or understanding to oversee their retirement savings strategy on their own can become overwhelmed when faced with their choices. Through our team at Correct Capital, our Augusta-Richmond County, GA financial advisors manage the lion's share of your savings plan setup for you, and strive to ensure meeting your retirement goals as straightforward as possible for you. We are here to assist you in setting up your self-employed retirement plan in four simple steps:
- Schedule a Call: A quick 20-minute call is all it takes, a member of our advisor team can help understand if we're a good fit for you and your business. This brief introduction lets us learn about your needs with no pressure or significant effort on your part.
- Gather Information: If we both decide to move forward, we'll request information, including your employee count, your present financial standing, and your retirement goals. This helps us create a custom plan suited specifically for your needs.
- Review Your Plan: When we finalize a plan based on the information you provide, we'll schedule a meeting and discuss your plan step by step to ensure you understand it and explain its fit to your circumstances.
- Implementation and Monitoring: When we finalize on your plan, we'll set everything up so you can begin contributing. Over the course of our partnership, we'll meet with you and monitor your plan to make sure it remains aligned with your goals.
Our Augusta-Richmond County, GA financial advisors and retirement plan consultants serve as fiduciary advisors, which means they are committed by law and ethics to act in your best interest.
Other financial advisory services we offer in Augusta-Richmond County, GA include:
- Investment Management
- 401(k) Audit
- High-Net-Worth Wealth Management
- Retirement Planner
- Financial Planning
- Retirement Plan Consultants
- Fiduciary Financial Advisor
Call Correct Capital for Your Self-Employed Retirement Plan in Augusta-Richmond County, GA
Your business isn't "just a business" to you, and your Augusta-Richmond County, GA financial advisors must deliver more than simply sound financial advice. At Correct Capital, we focus on building a relationship with our clients and their businesses to create customized self-employed retirement plans. All our clients in Augusta-Richmond County, GA benefit from our I.O.U. promise: all of the advice you get from us will be independent, objective, and unbiased. To begin on your self-employment retirement plan, reach out to Correct Capital at 877-930-401k or contact us online.
