For an updated list of available retirement plans and annual plan limits, reference our employee retirement plan chart.

Just because your business is a one-person administration, doesn't mean you can't have a self-employed 401k plan of your own. A Solo 401k plan allows a self-employed business owner with no other employees other than a spouse to participate in a structured retirement plan.

Any sole proprietor, partnership, corporation, or S Corporation qualifies for a self-employed 401k plan. If you own a business, you can contribute the lesser of $42,000 or 100% of total compensation into a Solo 401k plan. Self-employed business owners 50 years or older can take advantage of a catch up provision that allows an additional $4,000 of contributions per year. Participants can also defer a maximum compensation of $14,000 plus 25% of total profit sharing into the plan.

A self-employed 401k plan like the Solo 401k allows high contribution limits, relaxed rules, and virtually no administration, including costly discrimination testing. If you previously held an IRA or other 401k plan before starting your own business, you can rollover into a Solo 401k. You can also select to decrease or stop contributions completely at any time.

Keep in mind that the eligibility requirements for having a self-employed 401k plan are quite strict. It's not widely offered by most investment companies and those that do offer it provide limited investment options. And once you add a single employee outside of your spouse, you must convert to a traditional or SIMPLE 401k plan.