Series 6: 3.2.3. Qualified Plans For Small Businesses

3.2.3. Qualified Plans for Small Businesses

Private employers of any size and structure, from the largest C corporation to a sole proprietorship consisting of a single self-employed individual, may set up and use any of the qualified employer-sponsored plans described previously, except for the 403(b) and 457 plans. You may encounter customers who talk about having a Keogh plan, also called an HR10 plan. These were created to allow small businesses access to qualified retirement plans. But in 2001, changes in the law eliminated many distinctions between the retirement plans of large and small businesses. As a result, there is technically very little difference between Keogh plans and other qualified plans, so much so that IRS guidance on retirement plans prefers not to use the term “Keogh plan.”

However, a few differences remain betw