
State Mandated Retirement Plans: What is a Qualified Plan?
Most state programs exempt an employer that already sponsors a plan. Which plans count barely changes state to state. The step employers miss is telling the state they have one.

Most state programs exempt an employer that already sponsors a plan. Which plans count barely changes state to state. The step employers miss is telling the state they have one.

Most 401(k) plans must pass annual testing, and when one fails the contributions cut back are usually the owner’s. A safe harbor design trades a contribution for exemption.

A ROBS plan holds stock in your company. Exiting means selling the business, redeeming the stock, distributing it in kind, or terminating the plan. Each route turns on a valuation.

Almost every payroll company lists 401(k) integration as a capability. What matters is whether it connects to your recordkeeper, and in which direction.

Payroll integration is usually sold as a time saver. Its greater value is avoiding the errors that begin in the gap between payroll and recordkeeping.

The barrier was never legality, it was providers. What federal law says about cannabis 401(k) plans, and what changed in April 2026.

The 2026 IRS retirement plan contribution limits, each shown alongside the 2025 figure it replaced, plus what the Roth catch-up requirement changes for employers.

ERISA section 412 requires anyone who handles plan funds to be bonded. What the bond covers, who has to have one, how the coverage amount is calculated, which plans are exempt, and where it appears on the Form 5500.

Setting up a cannabis 401(k) takes a week. Running it takes every payroll, every quarter, and every January. Here is what that involves.

Required minimum distributions are due December 31, and April 1 applies only to the first one. The Form 5500 is due July 31. Here is the full calendar, and what happens when a date is missed.