The small business retirement plan checklist

Key decisions, setup steps and reviews for a California business owner, from first conversation to year-end. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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1. Before you choose a plan

• Count eligible employees and total payroll.
• Check your CalSavers status: registered, exempt or not yet notified.
• Decide how much you, as the owner, want to save each year.
• Decide what the business can contribute in a slow year, not just a good one.
• List your goals: hiring, retention, owner tax savings, or simply compliance.

2. Choose the design

• Compare SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA and 401(k) on limits, cost and paperwork.
• Choose a contribution formula (match, nonelective or profit sharing) and whether to use a safe harbor design.
• Set eligibility and vesting rules (401(k) plans must let long-term part-time employees with 500+ hours in two consecutive years defer; SEP and SIMPLE IRA contributions are always fully vested).
• Decide on automatic enrollment. It is required for most 401(k) plans started after December 29, 2022, but businesses with 10 or fewer employees, businesses under three years old and SIMPLE 401(k) plans are exempt.
• Ask your CPA to confirm eligibility for SECURE 2.0 startup and contribution credits.

3. Set it up

• Select a recordkeeper and, for a 401(k), a third-party administrator.
• Get your adviser’s fiduciary role (3(21) or 3(38)) in writing.
• Adopt the plan document and an investment policy statement.
• Connect payroll so contributions are deposited promptly every pay period.
• Certify your CalSavers exemption on the employer portal once the plan is in place.
• Distribute required notices and enroll employees.

4. After launch

• Send employees a monthly contribution summary that shows the employer’s dollars.
• Hold a short employee education session each quarter.
• Keep minutes of investment and fee reviews.

5. Every year

• Review investments, fees and service providers, and document the review.
• Confirm nondiscrimination testing results (or that safe harbor notices went out on time) and the Form 5500 filing, if required.
• Revisit contribution levels as profits and headcount change.
• Claim eligible tax credits with your CPA (IRS Form 8881).

General educational information as of September 2026; not individualized investment, tax or legal advice.