The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides several retirement plans that offer tax benefits to employees and employers. The most common IRS retirement plan is the 401(k) plan. Other popular IRS retirement plans include the 403(b) plan, the 457(b) plan, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
The 401(k) plan is the most well-known IRS retirement plan. This type of plan allows employees to defer a portion of their salary into a 401(k) account. The funds in the account are then invested and grow tax-deferred. Employers may also make matching or profit-sharing contributions to employee 401(k) accounts.
The 401(k) is a defined benefit plan. This means that your employer promises to pay you a certain amount of money at retirement, regardless of how much you have contributed to the plan or how well your investments have performed.
The 403(b) and 457(b) plans are similar to the 401(k) plan. However, these plans are only available to certain public sector and non-profit employees. The 403(b) plan is available to employees of schools, hospitals, and other tax-exempt organizations. The 457(b) plan is available to state and local government employees.
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings plan available to federal employees and members of the uniformed services. The TSP offers the same tax benefits as the 401(k) plan. However, there are some key differences between the two plans.
The TSP is a defined contribution plan. This means that the amount of money you have in your account at retirement will depend on how much you contribute to the plan and how well your investments perform.
These are just a few of the most common IRS retirement plans. There are other less common plans, such as the SIMPLE IRA and the SEP IRA. Be sure to talk to your employer or financial advisor to find out which retirement plan is right for you.
