Best SIMPLE IRA Plan Provider in 2023
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Overview of TD Ameritrade's Small Business IRA
Small businesses that would like to help their employees save for retirement can set up a SIMPLE IRA
at TD Ameritrade. The broker offers a lot of advantages for IRAs. Let's take a look at TD Ameritrade's
retirement offerings.
SIMPLE IRA
A SIMPLE IRA is designed for businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Any company larger than this
cannot open a SIMPLE plan under IRS regulations. In a SIMPLE IRA, the employer makes contributions,
and the employee may or may not. The employer can match the employee's contribution up to 3% of salary,
or contribute a flat 2%, which is not matched. In either case, the employer, but not the employee, is
required to make contributions.
Employees must earn at least $5,000 in a year to contribute to a SIMPLE retirement plan. The
contribution limit is
$15,500 per year. Participants over the age of 50 can deposit up to $22,500
annually.
IRA Choices
Retirement investors at TD Ameritrade can choose from several different IRA’s. The broker offers Roth, Traditional, SEP, SIMPLE, Rollover, Minor, and Minor Roth. There are retirement specialists who can assist customers over the phone with IRA questions.
SIMPLE IRA Fees and Requirements
TD Ameritrade accounts come with no annual fee, no low-balance fee, and no inactivity fee. Even better, there
is no minimum initial deposit requirement for an IRA.
The broker's commission schedule applies to both retirement and non-retirement accounts. Stock and ETF
transactions are $0 online. The firm also offers living human brokers who can help customers place a trade
over the phone. Doing so costs $25.
Fund Investing
Retirement savers who don't want to pay the above commissions also have access to TD Ameritrade's list of
over 4,200 NTF (no commission to buy or sell)
mutual funds. There are over 13,000 mutual funds in total. Transaction-fee funds are $49.99 per trade.
Some of the funds on the broker's long list of mutual funds are target date funds. These products were created for investors saving for retirement. They take on less investment risk as retirement approaches. Some of the funds have no loads and no transaction fees.
TD Ameritrade customers can also trade all ETFs without paying commissions.
Many of these products have very low expense ratios, which of course will appeal to long-term retirement savers.
IRA Videos, Calculators, and Tools
The TD Ameritrade website has some good IRA calculators. For example, one tool calculates when IRA distributions must be taken under IRS rules. A second calculator helps retirement investors see the consequences of a 401(k) rollover. A third tool evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of opening a Roth or Traditional IRA. Another calculator explores the consequences of converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth.
Investors at TD Ameritrade can access a large library of educational videos. Some of these resources discuss retirement issues in general and IRAs in particular. For example, one video explores 401(k) conversions.
Free TD Ameritrade SIMPLE IRA
Open TD Ameritrade Account
Comparison
TD Ameritrade's website has more instructional material on retirement topics compared to what many other brokers offer, including Schwab, Firstrade, and Merrill Edge.
Furthermore, the firm's $0 initial deposit requirement is lower than Schwab's $1,000 requirement. There are also more free-to-trade mutual funds and ETFs compared
to the offerings of other brokers, such as Fidelity.
Awards
TD Ameritrade was named "The best brokerage firm for IRA" by Kiplinger's magazine. Barron’s magazine rated the company #1 for Beginner
Investors and #1 for Long Term Investing, and gave it top scores in Mobile Trading, Range of Offerings, Research Amenities, Customer
Service, and Education categories.
Conclusion
Whether you are looking for traditional broker based portfolio and investing advice, or a high technology trading platform, the
TD Ameritrade IRA can accommodate either approach. In a competitive marketplace they have assembled an impressive number of options for the IRA holder to manage
and grow their account in the modern markets.
Free TD Ameritrade SIMPLE IRA
Open TD Ameritrade Account
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