Skip this if you are only interested in 401k’s

So, many of you by now are asking me “What about us guys that aren’t offered a 401k by our company.” And others who run their own small business are asking the same thing. No problems, our trusty old government knew a while back that they wouldn’t hold true on their obligations on social security (I’m 30 and do not anticipate getting a dime back that they are taking from me now - and you should think the same way), so they gave us citizens a break on our taxes, so we could do it on our own. Back to my point, for those of you who don’t have a 401k option, you can invest in a few similar plans to the 401k, they are as follows:

• 403b-just like a 401k, but this is for government and non profit companies (like hospitals and schools).
• Keogh plan: This is for people who run their own business, it is their own benefit plan (just like company pension plans).
• IRA or Indiviual retirement account - the government allows you a certain maximum amount of money you can contribute (this money will be invested before you pay taxes on it-so it will be taxed at retirement, making this a smart decision if you have lower income when you are retired - which most of us will). The 2008 limits are $5,000 if you are under 49, and $6,000 if you are over 50. You can invest in brokerage firms (places that are licensed to sell stocks), or banks and such.
• Roth IRA or a Roth Individual Retirement account - same as an IRA, except you pay the taxes now instead of at retirement.

For the small business owner interested in looking into the benefits of offering a 401k for your employees as a recruitment and retention tool check out:ShareBuilder 401(k)  . It’s completely free to get a quote, and there are numerous tax benefits for your company (even if it is only for you).