IRS Offers Small Businesses New Retirement Plan Resource Guide

WASHINGTON - Small business owners can now learn virtually everything they need to know about setting up and maintaining IRA-based retirement plans for their employees, thanks to a new, free compact disc from the Internal Revenue Service.

"This new CD is just one of the ways we're helping small business owners provide themselves and their employees with the information they need to save for retirement," said Carol Gold, director of the Employee Plans unit at the IRS. "IRA-based retirement plans are tailor-made for small businesses, offering them an easy way to provide retirement benefits to their employees with a minimum of paperwork."

The CD-ROM, Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) Resource Guide for Small Business Owners and Individuals, contains information about both traditional and Roth IRAs. It also covers IRA- based retirement plans for employers, including simplified employee pensions (SEPs), SIMPLE IRAs, and payroll deduction IRA plans.

Included on the CD are video clips, forms and publications, frequently asked questions, and interactive resources that make learning about IRAs easy, It also includes information on the basics of investing retirement savings and checklists for business owners to use in managing their IRA-Based retirement plans.

To get a free copy of the CD, call the IRS toll- free at 1-800-TAX-FORM (829-3676) and ask for Publication 4395.

An online version is available on the newly-revamped "Retirement Plans" section on the IRS website.

In addition, the IRS urges small business owners visiting the Web site to subscribe to Retirement News for Employers, a free quarterly electronic newsletter on retirement plan issues.