SIMPLE IRA

Employees must have earned at least $5,000 from their employer in any two years. They are expected to earn at least $5,000 during the current year.

Employers are required to contribute on behalf of eligible employees, and the contributions must be made by their tax filing deadline (including extensions). Choose from one of two tax-deductible formulas:

• Employer matching contribution: Employees who are actively contributing to the plan receive a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution up to 3% of each employee’s compensation (not limited by the annual compensation limit of $330,000 for 2023).
• Employer nonelective contribution: It’s equal to 2% of pay for all eligible employees who earned at least $5,000 in compensation for the current year. The 2% contribution is limited to a compensation limit of $330,000 (indexed for inflation).

Employee contributions are made on a pretax basis. Employees can contribute a percentage of their annual salaries or a flat dollar amount:

• The maximum contribution is $15,500 for 2023 (indexed for inflation).
• Catch-up contributions up to $3,500 are permitted if age 50 or older (indexed for inflation).
• Contributions are automatically deducted from employee paychecks and must be deposited into the plan within 30 days after the end of the month in which the amounts would otherwise have been paid to the employees.

Employees who need to access their retirement savings may withdraw contributions and earnings at any time. If the participant is under age 59½ at the time of a withdrawal, a 10% penalty applies. If a withdrawal occurs within the first two years of participation, the penalty increases to 25%. All withdrawals are subject to income taxes.

Penalty-free rollovers are permitted in and out of the plan. Participants in a SIMPLE IRA plan for less than two years may only roll assets to or from another SIMPLE IRA. Participants in a SIMPLE IRA plan for more than two years may roll assets to or from any eligible retirement plan.⁴

• Employers must provide notification to employees of their eligibility to participate in the plan and the selected employer contribution type.
• Employers also must provide summary plan descriptions annually to all eligible employees and allow a 60-day election period for them to enter into or modify a salary reduction agreement.
• Unlike other retirement plans, no government filing or reporting is required.

A SIMPLE IRA has similarities to a 401(k) because it allows employees to contribute toward their retirement through pretax salary deferrals. Key differences include the number of employees permitted: A SIMPLE IRA can support up to 100 employees, while a 401(k) plan has no limits. Additionally, an employer is required to contribute to eligible participants in a SIMPLE IRA plan, while employer contributions aren’t required in a traditional 401(k) plan.

The sponsoring employer has two options when determining how employer contributions will be made to a SIMPLE IRA plan. The option you choose must be communicated to employees at least 60 days before the beginning of the plan year (the election period):

• Employer matching contribution: Contribute by matching each employee's salary deferral dollar for dollar up to 3% of all compensation (no compensation cap). Additionally, the employer may reduce the employer match by no less than 1% in two of every five years if employees are notified within a reasonable time before the 60-day election period.
• Employer nonelective contribution: Make a nonelective contribution of 2% of the first $330,000 of compensation in 2023 ($305,000 for 2022) for every employee regardless of whether the employee made salary deferral contributions to their retirement account. The employer is allowed to limit nonelective contributions to employees who had at least $5,000 in compensation for the year. 

Both options are indexed for inflation.

The most a participant can choose to defer is the lesser of 100% of compensation or $15,500 for participants under age 50. Participants who are 50 and older are allowed to "catch up" by making additional salary reduction contributions of $3,500 to a SIMPLE IRA for a maximum of $19,000 for 2023 (indexed for inflation).