Hankal wrote:

- quote -

Well, it depends on what you mean by "best"--are you asking
for investment advice, or is your issue the most tax
advantaged? Considering this is a tax group, I'll go for the
latter.

At that point the issue becomes what you are eligible for.
An employer sponsored plan generally beats the alternatives
from a tax standpoint, but you either need your employer to
sponsor one *OR* you need to be in a position to "influence"
your employer to do so (such as owning your own business,
either as self-employed or incorporated).

If you are an employee with an employer who does not sponsor
a plan, you will either be limited ot the IRA for tax
deductible retirement contributions *OR* you need to find a
new employer who has a plan you like.

If you are self-employed and/or control your employer (I own
1/3 of mine--and the other 2/3rds is held by my two partners
who think alike on retirement plans), you can look at
various qualified plan and "just short of qualified plan"
options (SEPs and SIMPLEs). Which is "best" depends largely
on

a) what your income from the business amounts to
b) how much you want to put back for retirement
c) how old you are
d) make up of the other employees of your enterprise

On the last issue, key factors will be:

1) age of employees
2) amount of pay they receive
3) their willingness to contribute to a plan on their own
4) how long they have been employed with you
5) whether they would see such a plan as a real benefit or
something of no value

There's no simple answer--just a number of options that need
to be adapted to the situation at hand.

--
Ed Zollars, CPA
Phoenix, Arizona

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"Hankal" <hankal[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

It depends on how much money you have available and how long
you have till retirement. And you CAN get assurances that
your money will grow with a broker, you just have to be
willing to do what it takes (read that "defined benefit
plan" - 412(i) Plan - 419 Plan - Guaranteed Annuity - etc.).

A SEP is ONE way to save for retirement and you don't have
to be a Sole Proprietor for it to work. A SIMPLE is also
good, as is a 401(k) or Individual (k) Plan, as are most any
pension plan.

Don't confuse a retirement plan with retirement plan
investments - these are two totally different things.

I would suggest you meet with a tax pro that does retirement
planning. That is the only way you are going to get a good
answer to your question. You will have to factor in all the
particulars of your circumstances otherwise you will never
get the right plan OR the right investments.

Gene E. Utterback, EA

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What would be the best way to take money out for retirement?
The most one can contribute is $3500 for an IRA. Of course
if you have money with a broker you have no assurance that
the miney will grow.

As sole proprietor the SEP is a good way to save for
retirement.

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