401(k) Plan               Traditional IRA              SEP IRA

SIMPLE IRA                Roth IRA

401(k)_Plan
A 401(k)_Plan is named after a section of the tax code and is a qualified plan established by employers to which eligible employees may make salary deferral (salary reduction) contributions on a post and/or pre-tax basis. Employers may make matching or non-elective contributions to the plan on behalf of eligible employees and may also add a profit sharing feature to the plan. Earnings accrue on a tax-deferred basis. A 401(k) plan allows you to contribute up to a certain percentage of your before-tax pay, which varies based on your employer's plan. The IRS establishes the maximum dollar amount that an employee can contribute from before-tax pay.

Savings Incentive Match Plan - SIMPLE IRA
A SIMPLE IRA plan is an IRA-based plan that gives small employers a simplified method to make contributions toward their employees’ retirement and their own retirement. Under a SIMPLE IRA plan, employees may choose to make salary reduction contributions and the employer makes matching or nonelective contributions. All contributions are made directly to an Individual Retirement Account or Individual Retirement Annuity (IRA) set up for each employee (a SIMPLE IRA). SIMPLE IRA plans are maintained on a calendar basis.

Simplified Employee Pension - SEP IRA
A type of retirement plan that an employer can establish, including self-employed individuals. The employer is allowed a tax deduction for contributions made to the SEP Plan. The employer makes contributions to each eligible employee's SEP IRA on a discretionary basis.

Traditional IRA
An IRA that is not a Roth IRA or a SIMPLE IRA. Individual taxpayers are allowed to contribute 100% of compensation (Self-employment income for Sole proprietors and partners) up to a specified maximum dollar amount to their Traditional IRA. Contributions to the Traditional IRA may be tax-deductible depending on the taxpayer's income, tax-filing status, and coverage by an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Roth IRA
An individual retirement plan that bears many similarities to the Traditional IRA. Contributions are never deductible, and qualified distributions are tax-free. A qualified distribution is one that is taken at least five years after the taxpayer established his/her first Roth IRA and when he/she is age 59½, disabled, or using the withdrawal to purchase a first home (limit $10,000), or deceased (in which case the beneficiary collects).

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