ProductsSeptember 18, 2009

IRS Site Helps Employers Navigate Retirement Plan Waters

<p>Small-business employers looking for basic guidance about the array of workplace retirement plans from which they can choose can now get their questions answered at a new federal Web site.</p>

Reported by Fred Schneyer

Unveiled by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in conjunction with a package of retirement savings initiatives from the White House (see “Obama Administration Launches Retirement Savings Initiatives“), the IRS Retirement Plans Navigator is organized to help small-business employers:

choose a plan;
maintain a plan by making certain the plan retains its tax-qualified status; and
correct a plan by using one of the tax agency’s programs set up for this purpose.

The site offers information about plans with IRAs, 401(k) and profit-sharing plans, defined benefit plans, and tax-exempt plans.

The navigator also includes a side-by-side comparison of plan features and a summary rundown of the potential benefits for employers and workers of having a workplace retirement program.

The site also features numerous links to the IRS main Web site, irs.gov , for further information.

The IRS navigator is available at www.retirementplans.irs.gov.