Personal Finance

My mom owns a small LLC and wants to add a 401(k) for her employees — is this the right move?

Aaron Webber

Published: December 15, 2024 8:30 am

Despite what many “business experts”, influencers, and thought leaders on LinkedIn might say, employers have a responsibility to care for, respect, and compensate their employees in return for the employees selling their lives to the company. Paying them less than what they deserve, mistreating them, abusing them, and taking advantage of them isn’t good business, it’s unethical.

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

• A 401(k) is a common-sense benefit that many employees expect their employer to provide.
• There are hidden fees and costs with some plans, so do your research before picking one.
• Also: Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire (Sponsored)

But how does a small business go about starting with implementing one of the most common employee benefits, a 401(k) plan? Should they implement one at all? One person had these questions and took their concerns to the people in r/smallbusiness. Here is what they said.

Please keep in mind, that the advice you find online, including this article, are opinions. You should always talk with an expert before making any decision with your business.

The Question

The author of our post says that their mother owns a small restaurant with three employees. She has been looking into adding a 401(k) option but doesn’t know where to begin, how to start, or who she should talk to.

The author also confessed that they don’t know anything about retirement accounts, and the more they tried to learn the more confused they became. They got especially confused when it came to choosing between different plan options.

In the end, they asked the community what the best thing to do was.

The Community Response

Naturally, there were many recommendations for specific companies and retirement plan providers. We’re not going to list each one here, as every company has different benefits and perks that might appeal to you and your company. We recommend you visit the thread yourself to see if any of them appeal to you. Or better yet, begin to research companies that specialize in retirement plans for small companies.

Whatever you choose, you should take the time to read the small print of your plan and understand the laws about them. Some companies charge fees for signing up, enrolling new employees, or managing your plan, while others charge no fees at all.

It is also important to remember that once you implement a retirement plan, you have to offer the same benefit to all employees current and future. You can’t pick and choose who gets to participate or use it as a bonus or motivator.

In the end, most of the common-sense responses recommended first speaking with the company CPA or finance officer, if there was one. If not, they should get one or at least meet with a professional so they can understand their finances and make a sound decision that won’t harm the company and the employees in the future.

You should not make any big decisions like implementing a 401(k) plan without a complete understanding of our current finances and future projections.