How to keep your retirement plan
May 15th, 2008 | by admin |By Anne FisherMay 9, 2008: 11:12 AM EDT
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(FORTUNE Small Business) — Dear FSB: My company supplies irrigation and plumbing materials. Last year I set up a Roth 401(k) plan for my five full-time employees using a major mutual fund firm. Now the firm says that because of a new law, our employees’ contributions and employer matching contributions require separate custodians that it is not equipped to provide for us. Some brokerage firms say the same thing. Any ideas?
- Leo Burgunder, President, PVC Supply House, Merritt Island, Fla.
Dear Leo: While there is no new law, says financial advisor Heidi Hutchinson of Hutchinson & Ziegler in San Rafael, Calif., "the Roth 401(k), which was launched a couple of years ago, does have accounting requirements beyond those of a regular 401(k)." Hutchinson says that financial institutions offering the plans may simply find that the added administrative burdens make the Roth 401(k) less profitable to offer to small businesses.
What’s the solution? One option, says Hutchinson, is to hire an independent plan administrator to set up your firm’s Roth 401(k) and handle its ongoing accounting. To find one, says Earl Sanders, who owns Pension Metrix in San Francisco, search online for "third-party administrators" or consult your CPA for referrals. Annual fees for the service will run you about $1,000 to $2,000, and you can open the account at the brokerage or mutual fund firm of your choice.
Another idea is a simple IRA, which has drawbacks, says Hutchinson. Unlike a 401(k), it requires employers to make matching contributions of 1% to 3% of an employee’s pay. These plans also have lower annual deposit limits - $10,500 (with an added $2,500 for workers older than 50), vs. $15,500 ($20,500 for those older than 50) in a 401(k). But, says Kendall Storch of Boston’s Longfellow Benefits, "employees who want to save more can salt away the difference in another vehicle, such as a bank IRA." 
