If you own a business, you can benefit from WorthPointe’s expertise in devising the most appropriate retirement plans for your employees, both 401(k) accounts and pension plans. We provide advice on plan formation and maintenance, as well as recommended investments to best meet employees’ expectations. We may also be able to suggest ways for you to defer some of your heavily taxed income using these retirement vehicles.
Work with an ERISA 3 (38) fiduciary investment manager
Reduce trustee liability, since those in that position are personally liable for the investment choices, and their monitoring. Only an ERISA 3 (38) fiduciary allows trustees to delegate that responsibility.
Provide prudent portfolios
Giving employees a bunch of funds and telling them to invest for retirement doesn’t work very well. We design five low-cost, globally diversified portfolios (based on risk preference) for employees and give them a video interface to guide and educate them. This is especially important to today’s tech-savvy employees.
Insist on fee transparency
Recent lawsuits against plan sponsors have been based on making employees pay too much for their retirement plan. It’s important to see the fees today, and what they will be five years from now as money in the plan grows. We provide a transparent platform where all fees can be seen and minimized.
Optimize plan design
We design plans based on what clients are trying to accomplish: reduced liability and more deferrals for owners, better retirements for employees, a new recruiting tool, and more.
Educate, advise, monitor
This is what we provide after clients’ plans are implemented.
The Plans
- 1. Defined Benefits Plan
- 2. Employee Stock Ownership Plan
- 3. Non-Qualified Plans
- 4. Advanced Strategies
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Plan 1: Defined Benefits Plan
Defined benefit plans may be an excellent solution for high-income professionals, independent consultants, 1-15 person firms, and self-employed individuals. They may also be used in conjunction with 401(k) plans at larger companies, which may increase the amount of annual retirement savings.
Benefits to Small Business Owners:
- Current year tax deductions
- Retirement contributions each year — $200,000 or more if qualified
- The benefit of WorthPointe’s structured investing approach, featuring 80+ years of financial market science, and Nobel prize-winning economic research
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Plan 2: Employee Stock Ownership Plan
An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) serves as an employee benefit plan and a corporate finance tool. ESOPs help business owners meet a variety of individual and corporate goals, while giving employees an additional benefit that gives them a personal stake in the company’s success. An ESOP:
- Invests primarily in the stock of the employer that sponsors the plan
- Can borrow money, and principal and interest payments may qualify as tax-deductible
- Encourages employee ownership but retains management control
- May allow “tax-deductible” dividends
- Takes a company private with potential tax benefits
Benefits for Plan Sponsors
The reasons to consider an ESOP for plan sponsors are numerous. ESOPs may:
- Attract, reward and retain employees
- Buy out one or more owners
- Create a more motivated workforce
- Raise capital or build debt capacity
- Provide a takeover defense
- Establish a market for stock in a closely held business
- Have significant tax advantages:
- The ESOP can finance future growth and expansion with pre-tax dollars.
- In S corporations, corporate net earnings may be exempt from both state and federal income taxes, to the extent those earnings are attributable to the ESOP.
- In C corporations, companies can take a tax deduction for dividends they pay on stock the ESOP holds.
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Plan 3: Non-Qualified Plans
Some qualified employee benefit programs may disfavor owners and highly compensated employees by placing limits on their contributions, payouts and tax advantages—something that may make it difficult to plan an adequate retirement income. A properly designed executive benefit program can help owners and key employees close this potential retirement gap.
Our non-qualified deferred compensation plans are an excellent way to recruit, retain and reward highly compensated employees. By offering valuable retirement benefits, employers can tie selected employees to the business while helping them secure their financial futures.
Advantages for Employers
- Recruit, reward and retain skilled executives
- Limit a plan to a select group of executives or highly compensated employees
- Minimal ERISA reporting
- Flexibility in the design of the plan
Advantages for Employees
- Defer income toward retirement
- May be placed in a lower tax bracket later
- Assists in obtaining sufficient retirement income
- Helps ensure their heirs will be provided for
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Plan 4: Advanced Strategies
Advanced strategies are for closely held businesses with annual profits of at least $1 million. These strategies may provide substantial risk management, tax, cash flow and other benefits.