Small Businesses Offering Retirement Plans

Only 34.4% of firms with fewer than 25 employees offered retirement plans to their employees. Source: Congressional Research Service, 2004

Retirement plans that can be implemented by small businesses includes, the simplified employee pension-IRA (SEP-IRA), the traditional 401(K), the safe harbor 401 (K), and the savings incentive match plan for employees (SIMPLE)…SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(K).

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) of 2001 offers tax credits to any business with 100 or fewer employees that establishes a pension plan. Such businesses are eligible for credit up to 50% of the first $1,000 spent on retirement education and administration, to a maximum of $500 per year for the first three years. Eligible employees must have received $5,000 in compensation, and there must be at least one “highly compensated” employee who owned more than a 5% interest in the business at any time during the previous year or who receives compensation of more than $95,000 in 2005 (increased from $90,000 for 2004).

The law also includes a provision enabling employees age 50 or older to “catch up” by making incremental contributions to compensate for any years in which they did not participate in a pension plan. Another provision offers a tax credit to low-income participants; they can receive a nonrefundable tax credit of up to 50% on up to $2000 in contributions to specified plans, for a maximum credit of $1,000. This credit is in addition to the tax deduction already associated with contributions to such plans.

In order to ensure that all retirement plans have a representative balance of participants and are not dominated by higher-paid employees, they are subject to annual top-heavy testing (IRC section 416(g)). If a plan becomes top-heavy, the employer must provide a minimum contribution to all non-key employees, based on how much they have contributed to the plan—out of their own salaries or in the form of employer contributions—during the year.

What is Top-Heavy Testing and Key Employees?

A “key employee” is one who at any time during the preceding plan year was:

* A 5% owner
* A 1% owner whose annual compensation exceeded $150,000
* An officer receiving more than $130,000 in compensation.

The IRS considers a plan “top-heavy” if the account values for key employees exceed 60% of the account values for all employees. For example: A small business employs a total of 11 people, three of whom meet the criteria for “key employees.” If the account values for the three key employees total $15,000, while the account values for all 11 employees total $24,000, the plan would be considered top-heavy because the account values for the key employees equals 63% of the account values for all employees.

To make it less likely that a plan would be deemed top-heavy, the EGTRRA narrowed the definition of key employees by nearly doubling the compensation limit from $67,500 in 2000 to $130,000 in 2001. It also allowed companies to count matching contributions toward satisfying the minimum contribution requirements.

The top-heavy rules are particularly harsh on small businesses that employ family members; they discriminate by treating all family members as key employees, regardless of salary level and percentage of ownership (IRC section 318). This makes it difficult for family-based small businesses to pass top-heavy testing and continues to be a major deterrent to their implementing pension plans.

Source: aicpa.org

401(K) and IRA: How to Pick the Best Retirement Plan?

Living in retirement successfully will depend upon making the right financial choices. Many people want to know if they should invest in a 401k plan or an IRA. Both the 401(K) and the IRA (Individual Retirement Account) are ways to save money for purposes of retirement. But occasionally, it is sometimes used for major purchases such as the college education of a child or a down payment on a house. The principal difference between the two is quite simple. A 401(K)s are retirement saving plans offered through your employer, and an IRA is self-directed or a plan you set up on your own, with the help of a bank, mutual funds or other financial agency. There are people that have no option for savings but to open an IRA. If an individual is self-employed, owns a business or freelances, he or she may not have access to opening a 401(K). You generally need to be employed by a company that offers a 401(K) savings plan to have one.

There are some differences between the 401(K) and the IRA. Some people have both because of one of the major differences between the plans. A 401(K) may have a maximum savings amount or a maximum percentage of your salary that you can place in an account. You might be limited to a 10% contribution of your salary, and as of this year, the maximum tax-free amount you can place in a 401(K) is $16,000 USD. This will adjust each year if inflation occurs. Benefits to the 401(K) that the IRA doesn’t have are employer-matching programs.

Most often employers offer to match some or all of what you invest in your 401(K). This may be either half of you invest or six percent of your salary. If you invest 6% of your $100,000 USD salary per year, that’s $6000 USD, a company might completely match that $6000 USD investment, giving you $12,000 USD total in investments. This money is not taxable unless you withdraw it, and you may be able to avoid taxes on it entirely if you spend it on certain allowable expenses.

Non-taxable IRA contributions are lower than those for people who invest in their 401(K). Within this year, for instance, you could claim up to $5000 USD of your income as nontaxable if invested in an individual retirement account. Sometimes people invest their taxed income in a Roth IRA. Since it has already been subject to tax, it isn’t taxed when it is removed. It can be slightly more challenging to remove money from your independent retirement account without paying heavy fines, but it may be slightly easier to change the way your invested money is distributed.

Money in 401(K)s and IRAs may be diversified into stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. If you don’t like how something is performing, usually you can change the way your money is distributed more easily in an IRA. Some 401(K)s limit the number of times per year you can make changes. On the other hand, some 401(K)s have caught on and now allow employees to actively manage their investments on a regular basis.

You can generally funnel more money into IRAs than a 401(K), though you get less tax benefit from it. Yet the advantages of the 401(K) are many: chief among them is the employee-matching program, which might double the money you invest. However, if you plan on retiring early, you may need to use both types of savings accounts to boost the amount of money available to you when you retire. Many people who have larger incomes and larger amounts of money to invest use a combination of 401(K) investments and Roth IRAs.

Retirement Plan under Traditional IRA

We know that an IRA or an Individual Retirement account is a personal savings plan that provides income tax advantages to individuals saving money for purposes of retirement. We know also that IRAs comprise a special class of retirement accounts in the United States which give varying tax benefits depending on the type of IRA chosen. Common choices are the Roth IRA and the Traditional IRA. Since we are through with Roth IRA, now let’s talk about the Traditional IRA or TIRA and its features.

A traditional IRA is any IRA that is not a Roth IRA, a SIMPLE IRA, or an education IRA. The IRA or Individual Retirement Account is held at a custodian institution such as a bank or brokerage, and may be invested in anything that the custodian allows. Unlike the Roth IRA, the only criterion for being eligible to contribute to a Traditional IRA is sufficient income to make the contribution. However, the best provision of a Traditional IRA — the tax-deductibility of contributions — has strict eligibility requirements based on income, filing status, and availability of other retirement plans. Transactions in the account, including interest, dividends, and capital gains, are not subject to tax while still in the account, but upon withdrawal from the account, withdrawals are subject to federal income tax. This is in contrast to a Roth IRA, in which contributions are never tax-deductible, but qualified withdrawals are tax free. The traditional IRA also has more restrictions on withdrawals than a Roth IRA. With both types of IRA, transactions inside the account (including capital gains, dividends, and interest) incur no tax liability. The following are advantages and disadvantages of a traditional IRA:

Advantages

• The main advantage of a Traditional IRA, compared to a Roth IRA, is that contributions are often tax-deductible. If a taxpayer contributes $4,000 to a traditional IRA and is in the twenty-five percent marginal tax bracket, then a $1,000 benefit ($1,000 reduced tax liability) will be realized for the year. Because qualified distributions are taxed as ordinary income (the taxpayer's highest rate), the long-term benefits of the traditional IRA are only comparable to those of a Roth IRA (whose qualified distributions are tax free) if the current year tax benefit ($1,000 above) is reinvested.

• Also, if a taxpayer expects to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement than during the working years, then a traditional IRA offers an increased incentive over the Roth IRA.

• Another advantage of a Traditional IRA is that the taxpayer gets the tax benefit immediately.

• With the Roth IRA, there may be a risk that over the next several decades Congress will decide to tax Roth IRA distributions.

Disadvantges

• There are the eligibility requirements for the tax-deductibility. If one is eligible for a retirement plan at work, one's income must be below a specific threshold for your filing status.

• All withdrawals from a Traditional IRA are included in gross income and subject to federal income tax (with the exception of any nondeductible contributions; there is a formula for determining how much of a withdrawal is not subject to tax). If one's investment style is buy-and hold or dividend-seeking, then a Traditional IRA is at a disadvantage since holding stocks in an IRA means they lose their favorable tax treatment given to dividends and capital gains.

• If one has a lot of disposable income, a Roth IRA in effect shelters more assets from taxes on gains than a Traditional IRA does. Suppose someone with $4000 to invest is eligible to either contribute $4000 to a Roth IRA, or to contribute $4000 to a Traditional IRA and deduct it. If one chooses the Traditional IRA, then one receives an upfront tax deduction (worth, say, $1000 to someone in the 25% tax bracket). When the money is withdrawn from the Traditional IRA it will be taxed at marginal rates. On the other hand, if one chooses the Roth IRA, then there is no upfront tax deduction, but the money and the gains are all exempt from taxes upon retirement. So, someone must be in a lower tax bracket upon retirement than in their contribution year for a Traditional IRA to be tax preferential to a Roth IRA.

• Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of the Traditional IRA is its forced distributions based on age. Withdrawals must begin at age 70½ (more precisely, April 1 of the calendar year after age 70½ is reached) according to a complicated formula. If an investor fails to make the required withdrawal, half of the mandatory amount will be confiscated automatically by the IRS. The Roth is completely free of these mandates.

• In addition to the distribution being included as taxable income, the IRS will also assess a 10% early distribution penalty if the participant is under age 59½. The IRS will waive this penalty with some exceptions, including first time home purchase (up to $10,000), higher education expenses, death, disability, un-reimbursed medical expenses, health insurance, annuity payments and payments of IRS levies, all of which must meet certain stipulations.

What is Roth Individual Retirement Account or simply Roth IRA?

As discussed earlier, an IRA or an Individual Retirement account is a personal savings plan that provides income tax advantages to individuals saving money for purposes of retirement. However, IRAs comprise a special class of retirement accounts in the United States which give varying tax benefits depending on the type of IRA chosen. And one of the common choices is the Roth IRA.

Roth IRA is the brainchild of Senator William Roth (R-DE), a fiscal conservative involved in a number of tax-related bills. Since its creation in 1977, Roth IRA has become very popular amongst diverse groups of people, and it is one of the most commonly recommended investment strategies for middle-class Americans.

This type of IRA can be invested in a range of gaining strategies, including mutual funds and traditional stocks. When money is first invested in a Roth IRA, it is federally taxed based on the tax bracket one currently inhabits, something that may be a downside for some when compared to a traditional IRA. When money is taken out of the Roth IRA, however, funds up to the amount put into it are always federal-tax free, and often the entirety of the funds are free from federal taxes.

There are also penalties associated with Roth IRA and withdrawing money early. By withdrawing before retirement, one may incur both federal taxation and a 10% direct penalty. Luckily, these penalties are not always triggered, as there are exemptions for cases such as purchasing a house or paying for college. There is never a penalty for withdrawing money up to the amount one has put into the account, penalties are only ever incurred when drawing on earnings.

The Roth IRA is particularly recommended for people who are currently in a relatively low tax bracket and anticipate retiring in a higher bracket. By paying taxes while in a low bracket, say 15%, such people can avoid potentially much higher taxes at their age of retirement if their income level increases sufficiently to knock them up into a higher bracket, say 40%. With a traditional IRA, the entirety of their earnings -- even those they put away while in a 15% bracket -- will be taxed at 40% if that is the bracket they are in when they cash out their IRA. With a Roth IRA, however, they pay taxes based on their current bracket at each investment interval, potentially saving enormous amounts of money by the time they retire. High-level corporate execs need not apply for this type of IRA.

In order to take full advantage of a Roth IRA, one's income must be within a specific range, based on marital status. Once income drops below that level, the amount a person may contribute to their Roth IRA drops, and once income rises above an upper cap, they are no longer allowed to put money into a Roth IRA at all.

So, if you are planning to retire think of this retirement account and also read my posts on Ten Steps for Retirement Preparedness and Tips on Retirement.

Good luck!

Different Types of Retirement Plan under IRA

As we have known earlier, IRA is an Individual Retirement Account (also known legally as Individual Retirement Arrangement). It is a personal savings plan that provides either a tax-deferred or tax-free way of saving money for retirement purposes. However, there are many different types of accounts within the world of this retirement plan, depending on the financial goals and situations of each individual. These are Traditional IRA, Education IRA, SEP IRA, Simple IRA and the Roth IRA. Though the common choices are the traditional and Roth IRAs others have good features as I’ve stated depending on one’s situation and financial goal.

TRADITIONAL IRA

You can contribute up to $2,000 per year into an IRA. The amount of this contribution that is deductible on your income tax return depends on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and whether you are covered under an employer sponsored qualified retirement plan. Thus, depending on your filing status (Single, Joint, etc), and your AGI, your contributions may range from fully deductible to totally non-deductible. So even though you are eligible to contribute to your IRA, you may be in a position where none of these contributions are in fact deductible.

EDUCATION IRA

You can put away up to $500 per year into an education IRA, the money grows tax-free and has preferential tax treatment upon distribution to the beneficiary who uses it for authorized education expenses. These plans are not very common in that they are very restrictive on who can make contributions to them, the amount of total contributions allowable each year, and the limitations on what exact education expenses qualify. Your financial planner should be able to assist you in evaluating what savings plan you should undertake to prepare for higher education costs, as well as in reviewing many of the tax-sheltered savings plans now sponsored by the various states, even for benefits of non-state residents.

SEP IRA - Simplified Employee Pension

This is an employer established and funded Simplified IRA, where the employer can put up to 15% of your compensation into a special IRA account. Sole proprietors may establish these plans for their own benefit. They are sometimes used instead of Keogh retirement plans because they have fewer administrative and tax filing requirements.

SIMPLE IRA - Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees

This is a rather new creation, but rapidly becoming more popular. It is another employer sponsored and administered retirement plan. The attractive features of this plan includes not only the ability for the employer to establish and fund a retirement plan for the benefit of him/herself and his/her employees, but it also permits employees to contribute up to 100 %, but no more than $6,500 per year, into an IRA. Separate rules relative to required employer contributions and premature distributions apply.

ROTH IRA

Contributions are NOT deductible when the funds are contributed, but the Roth IRA earnings accumulate tax-free and remain tax-free upon distribution. To be eligible to contribute, your Adjusted Gross Income must be under $95,000 for singles and $150,000 for married couples, as of December 2000. You cannot withdraw your funds within the first 5 years after the establishment of the Roth without a penalty. Given that this 5-year testing period can successfully be addressed by proper tax planning, the establishment and at least partial funding of a Roth IRA account should be on the discussion list of the financial advisor of every taxpayer who qualifies to open such a plan.

What is an IRA or an Individual Retirement Account

An IRA or an INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT is a personal savings plan that provides income tax advantages to individuals saving money for retirement purposes.

IRA works like this. You invest money in an IRA, up to the amounts allowable under the tax law. These investments are termed "contributions." In many instances an income tax deduction is available for the tax year for which the funds are contributed. The contributions, as well as the earnings and gains from these contributions, accumulate tax-free until you withdraw the money from the account. You therefore enjoy the ability to generate additional earnings, unreduced by taxes on these earnings, each year the funds remain within the IRA.

The withdrawals of the funds from the IRA are termed "distributions." Distributions are subject to income taxation, generally in the year in which you receive them. (Remember that in most cases you received an income tax deduction when you contributed the money to the IRA.) As with most things involving the government, the rules for distributions are more complicated than they need to be.

Since the original purpose of the IRA is to assist you in providing for your own retirement, there is a disincentive for withdrawing your IRA funds prior to an assumed retirement age of 59 1/2. This disincentive takes the form of a tax "penalty" in the amount of 10 % of the distributions received by you prior to age 59 1/2, unless certain exceptions apply. Given the complexity of this issue alone, professional advice should be obtained whenever significant amounts of distributions are needed prior to age 59 1/2. The fact is that many times the penalty can be avoided with proper planning. Obviously these distributions are subject to income taxation upon receipt whether before age 59 1/2 or later. Once you are age 59 1/2 this penalty termed, "Premature Distribution" penalty are no longer applicable.

On the flip side of the government not wanting you to withdraw your money at too young an age, it also has rules to prevent you from not withdrawing the money soon enough. (This is done in order that the government can tax it.) You usually need to begin taking money from your IRA no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the date you attained age 70 1/2. The rules established by the government regarding these Required Minimum Distributions, their timing, the amounts, the recalculations, and the effect various beneficiary designations have on them, are among the most complex of the Internal Revenue Code. The penalty is 50 % of the shortfall between what you should have withdrawn and the amounts you actually withdrew by the proper date. This punitive penalty is matched only by the civil fraud penalty in severity. The necessary calculations are therefore not something that most individuals should attempt on their own.

Some Relevant Issues on 401(K) Retirement Plan

401(K) as we know is a retirement plan where employees make contributions from their pretax earnings. Employers may make matching or nonselective contributions to the plan on behalf of eligible employees and may also add a profit-sharing feature to the plan. The fund will accumulate and free of tax up until it is withdrawn.

The IRS rule states, “Invest as much as you can in 401k investment plan for your retirement. The deferred tax element of the plan means you don't pay income tax on it until you actually withdraw, which saves you money in the long term.” However, there lot of issues on this type of retirement plan that should be addressed such as the following.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of 401(K) Retirement Plan?

The 401(K) plan has many advantages. First, since the employee is allowed to contribute to his/her 401(k) with pre-tax money, it reduces the amount of tax paid out of each pay check. Second, all employer contributions and any growth in the capital grow tax-free until withdrawal. The compounding effect of consistent periodic contributions over the period of 20 or 30 years is quite dramatic. Third, the employee can decide where to direct future contributions and/or current savings, giving much control over the investments to the employee. Fourth, if your company matches your contributions, it's like getting extra money on top of your salary. Fifth, unlike a pension, all contributions can be moved from one company's plan to the next company's plan (or to an IRA) if a participant changes jobs. Sixth, because the program is a personal investment program for your retirement, it is protected by pension (ERISA) laws. This includes the additional protection of the funds from garnishment or attachment by creditors or assigned to anyone else, except in the case of domestic relations court cases dealing with divorce decree or child support orders (QDRO - qualified domestic relations orders). Finally, while the 401(K) is similar in nature to an IRA, an IRA won't enjoy any matching company contributions, and personal IRA contributions are subject to much lower limits.

If there are advantages, there are, of course disadvantages associated with this plan. First, it is difficult (or at least expensive) to access your 401(K) savings before age 60 (59 1/2 to be exact). Second, it doesn’t have the luxury of being insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). And the Third is, employer matching contributions are usually not vested or do not become the property of the employee until a number of years have passed. The rules say that employer matching contributions must vest according to one of two schedules, either a 3-year "cliff" plan (100% after 3 years) or a 6-year "graded" plan (20% per year in years 2 through 6).

What happens to your 401(K) if you change/leave/lose your job?

You have three options:

1. Keep your money in your former employer's 401(K): You have to have a vested amount of at least $5,000 in your account to choose this option. Also, you have to be under the plan's normal retirement age. If your vested account balance is under $5,000, you may be forced by the employer to take a distribution. Speak to your HR Department for details about forced distribution.

2. Roll the money over into a new 401(K): If you choose this option, make sure that the check is written directly to the new 401(K) account. There is no grace period for this option. If the money comes to you before it is placed in the new account, you will be charged the income tax and 10% penalty fine.

3. Cash out: you can withdraw the money in your 401(K). However, if you are under the age of 59.5, the income tax and 10% penalty fine will apply. If you are 55 years or older, you can begin tapping into your 401(K) and the 10% penalty will not apply. It doesn't matter if you left the job or were fired or retired. However, you will still have to pay the income taxes on your withdrawals.

Check with your HR Department for details and specifications for these conditions.

What happens to your 401(K) if your company goes bankrupt?

If your company goes bankrupt or is bought by another company, the contributions made to a 401(K) plan are held in trust by an independent custodian. Your employer does not have access to these funds. So, whatever the circumstances, the money in your 401(K) account remains yours.

What happens to your 401(K) if you leave the USA country?

Your status (Resident/H-1B or other visa/Citizen etc.) in the US at the time of contribution to the 401(K) and at the time of withdrawal is considered. It is best to consult a competent accountant or immigration lawyer about this matter. You have three options:

1. At the time of leaving, if the amount vested in your account is more than $5,000, you can leave your 401(K) money in your former employer's plan.

2. You can take the lump-sum payment of the money in your account. You will have to pay the taxes and penalties associated with early withdrawal.

3. You can directly rollover the amount in your 401(K) account into an Individual Retirement Account or IRA. Please remember, your Social Security Number is always valid (whether you live in the US or abroad), however, your finances and investments here are affected by various factors including your status in the US and how often you visit or live in the US among other things. It is best to consult experts in the field before making these important decisions.

How 401(k) Retirement Plan Works

When you join a 401(K) plan, you tell your employer how much money you want to contribute to your account. This amount is deducted from your salary before taxes are applied, so you pay less income tax. More importantly, the money is deducted even before you have received it, making it the easiest savings plan to contribute to. Your employer (usually) matches a portion of your contribution. The money is invested by the plan administrator (on your behalf) in mutual funds, bonds, money market accounts, etc. You decide the mix of investments. They usually have a list of investment vehicles you can choose from as well as some guidelines for the level of risk you are willing to take. Since the plan is an incentive for retirement savings, there is one condition: if you withdraw the money before you are 59.5 years old, you will have to pay tax as well as a 10% penalty fine to the IRS.

There are several reasons why investing in a 401(K) plan is advantageous to you:

• The money you contribute is free from Federal and State taxes.
• Your employer receives tax benefits for contributing to your 401(K) - this is extra money for you
• There is a range of investment options and an expert does the actual investing according to your directions.
• Any gains and earnings through this investment are also tax deferred.
• You can take loans and hardship withdrawals from your 401(K) under certain circumstances
• The money is deducted even before you receive your salary, thus making it easy to stick with regular saving and investing.

To invest in a 401(k) is entirely depends on your company's policy. Many companies require that new employees complete six months to a year of service before they are eligible to participate in the 401(K) plan. Speak to someone in the Human Resources Department of your company to find out how things work.

As to the amount of money to contribute you are usually allowed between 1-20% of your salary into the 401(K). The maximum pre-tax dollar amount is set by law and adjusted for inflation annually. It all depends on the restrictions of the 401(K) plan your company offers. For more information, contact your Human Resources Department.

With regard to withdrawal or borrowing money from your 401(K) you should remember that the plan was devised as an incentive for retirement savings. If you withdraw money from your 401(K) before the age of 59.5, you will be required to pay tax and a 10% penalty fine to the IRS. However, there are certain circumstances under which money can be taken from your account prior to retirement:

• Loans: Some 401(K) plans allow you to take a loan against the money you have contributed to the plan. Every company will have its own rules for the loan. Usually they require that there is an extreme hardship, such as health problems, financing a home or such other emergency. Check with your Human Resources Department for details.
• Hardship Distribution: Some plans allow for a withdrawal in extreme hardships - illness or great financial need. Not all plans do this and usually, if this option is used before the age of 59.5 years, a 10% penalty fine is assessed on the withdrawal. You might have to pay the applicable income tax and will most probably not be allowed to participate in the 401(K) plan for six months. Check with your Human Resources Department for details.
• Distribution upon termination of employment, death or disability: In case of termination of employment, you have the option to take a cash distribution of your funds from the 401(K). If you choose this option, 20% of the money may be held for income tax and the 10% penalty fine may be applicable if you are under 59.5 years of age at the time of withdrawal. In case of death or disability, you or your beneficiary can take the distribution. The 20% income tax may apply. If you wish to avoid this taxation, you must invest the money in a qualified retirement plan within 60 days.

401 (k) Retirement Plan: What is it?

Don’t let the cryptic name of the plan confuse you, this plan is actually fairly easy to understand. A 401(k) is a retirement plan offered and set up by some employers in the United States and each company has a slightly different 401(K). This is part of a family of retirement plans known as "defined contribution" plans - the amount contributed is defined by the employer or the employee. The plan gets its name from the section and paragraph of the Internal Revenue Code - section 401, paragraph K.

In addition to reducing your tax liability through contributions, the money that is saved in the plan can earn interest and continue to grow tax-deferred. You are only taxed on the money you withdraw from the plan at a later date as ordinary income.

Some companies offer an additional benefit in these plans in the form of a company match. This means your employer will contribute additional money into your plan that matches a portion of your contributions. Some employers match dollar-for-dollar up to a certain percentage of pay while others match a specified percentage of your contribution.

In addition, the company may have a vesting schedule in place that requires you to work for the company for a given length of time before you can collect the matched money. The vesting period can be on a graduated scale or a one-time length of service requirement.

A 401(k) plan allows you to invest money for retirement in a number of ways. These may include mutual funds that invest in the stock, bond or money markets, annuities or guaranteed investment pools, company stock or even self-directed brokerage accounts. Most plans will offer a selection of various investment options that will allow you to create a suitable retirement portfolio.

Money can generally be withdrawn from a 401(k) on five different occasions:

• Termination of employment
• Disability
• Reaching age 59 ½ (or 55 in some cases)
• Retirement
• Death

It is important to note that in some cases if money is withdrawn from these accounts before reaching age 59 ½ the IRS will issue a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Outside of the five qualified distribution events you may be able to access a portion of your money if your plan allows loans.

6 Ways to Tell if You're Financially Ready to Retire

Are You Financially Ready to Retire? Source: U.S. News & World Report

If you're suddenly obsessed with thoughts of quitting the rat race and playing golf all day, it's probably a good sign that you're mentally ready to retire. But are you financially ready? That moment may be tougher to pinpoint.

Here are some ways to tell if you are financially prepared to take the leap:

Guaranteed Income Streams

Find out when you are fully vested in your pension and 401(k) and at what age you can begin making withdrawals. In some cases, spouses can also qualify for pension distributions. "You want some kind of income that's predictable that's not subject to investment fluctuations," says Anna Rappaport, a fellow of the Society of Actuaries. "Then you can afford to take more risk with the rest of the portfolio."

Almost all workers can begin collecting Social Security at age 62, but delaying claiming up until age 70 will net you between 7 and 8 percent higher checks for each year you delay. "You want to be looking at those annual benefit statements that you get to make sure your benefits have been appropriately credited," says Brent Neiser, a certified financial planner and a director of the National Endowment for Financial Education.

Liquid Assets

Workers without a traditional pension need to have cash that can be spent immediately upon retirement. "If you have liquid assets, you may be able to retire now," says Michael Kresh, president and chief investment officer of M. D. Kresh Financial Services in Islandia, N.Y.

However, workers without readily available cash should consider delaying retirement. "If you need to sell some stocks [to produce income to live off of], you cannot retire right now," says Ray Lucia, a certified financial planner and president and founder of Raymond J. Lucia Cos. Inc. in San Diego. "You should not ever sell into a declining market."

Ideally, you should have funds to pay for about three years' worth of expenses accessible in relatively safe accounts where there is little risk of losing principal, according to Jim Barnash, a certified financial planner in Northbrook, Ill. This should allow you to ride out market volatility without having to sell investments into a down market at a loss. "Historically, we have never had a period of more than three years' worth of down markets," says Barnash. He also recommends that you keep about 25 percent of your portfolio aggressively invested to fight inflation and the rest invested according to your risk tolerance.

A Retirement Distribution Strategy

In order to retire comfortably, you'll need to amass an ample sum of money so that withdrawing 4 to 5 percent each year will be enough to cover all your bills, according to Lucia. You can also try to minimize taxes by withdrawing larger sums from tax-deferred accounts in years when you are in a lower tax bracket.

It helps if you can wait for a market upswing to start drawing down your nest egg. "If you have to tap into your retirement investments in an economic environment like we are having right now, it certainly is going to put a lot more stress on your financial resources and can significantly reduce the number of years that you will have funds available to live off of in retirement," says Barnash. "If you can, try to hold off until the markets are steady or on an upswing to be able to retire with the best possible advantages of making it through the long run."

Health Insurance

Most companies no longer offer subsidized health insurance to retirees. If you retire prior to age 65, when Medicare eligibility kicks in, you'll need to find another source of health insurance, be it through a spouse, COBRA coverage through your former employer where you pick up the full and often pricey premium, or an even more expensive policy purchased on the open market. And even once people qualify for Medicare, various studies have found, couples will need between $205,932 and $225,000 to pay for out-of-pocket expenses like premiums, deductibles, and copays.

A Backup Plan

Unforeseen circumstances often complicate retirement plans. You could be laid off, develop a health problem, or have to care for a frail relative. "Don't fall in love with a date," advises Barnash. "Don't fall in love with a certain lifestyle." Maintaining good health and insurance for disability and long-term care can help mitigate some of these risks. But as a last resort, you may have to downsize your standard of living. "I would recommend that you think about the minimum that you really need to live on and be comfortable--the cheapest house and car that you would be comfortable in," says Rappaport. "Budget for the minimum standard of income at which you would be happy."

Kresh recommends developing a "two-sided budget": On one side, you list fixed basic expenses like food and housing costs and on the other, discretionary spending like entertainment and vacations. Then you can cut back on the latter column in tighter years.

A New Job Waiting in the Wings

Working just one extra year gives your retirement savings more time to accrue, lets you delay tapping your nest egg, shortens the period your savings will need to last, and allows you to get higher Social Security checks for life. And many jobs also provide valuable health insurance.

"In general, delaying retirement is always a good thing financially, but it's not always a good thing emotionally," says Kresh, who recently had a client who grew tired of playing golf four times a week after retiring. "When you're accustomed to working all the time, you have a lot of time to fill in retirement." Kresh thinks that most baby boomers should consider not retiring until age 70 for the best results.

Of course, not all employers covet older workers, who are typically more experienced but also more expensive and prone to health problems than their younger counterparts. "It's really important to keep your skills up to date in case you need to work longer," says Rappaport.

If you can find a job you enjoy, even one extra year of work can raise your standard of living throughout your retirement. Says Neiser, "Working longer is one of the best remedies for the retirement anxiety and fear that exists today."