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Hello, Thank you in advance for any guidance you can provide and/or pointing us in the right direction. Spouse owned a "Sole Proprietor" business with her name as the business name and created a Solo401k through Vanguard in 2019. In CY2021, her Solo401k balance exceeded the $250k threshold (due to rolling funds into the plan), so we filed (CY2021) 5500-ez with the IRS using her "Sole Proprietor" name and EIN in ~July 2022. On 1/1/2022, spouse changed the business structure from "Sole Proprietor" to an LLC (filing as an S-Corp) with a different name (call it XYZ LLC) and a new EIN where she has several (1099) independent contractors who she pays (not employees). In ~July 2023 (we were late), we reached out to Vanguard to discuss what we needed to do related to this change in business structure and completed forms for "restating the plan" with the new "XYZ LLC" name and EIN number (filed with Vanguard in July 2023). With restating the plan, would Vanguard have notified the IRS that our business structure (name and EIN) have changed? We filed (CY2022) 5500-ez with the IRS using her "XYZ LLC" name and EIN in ~July 2023. QUESTIONS Were/are we allowed to continue using the same "Solo 401k" when she changed her business structure (and name) and we restated the plan? Or should we have closed out the previous (Sole Prop) Solo401k through Vanguard, filed a 5500-ez closing it out and then opened up a new (XYZ LLC) Solo401k under the new business name? I am now wondering how the IRS would know that we changed the business name and EIN? Will/would they consider the Sole Prop. to not have filed a 5500-ez for CY2022 and we'd be subject to the severe penalties that go with not filing a 5500-ez form? If there is a problem here, given our situation, what do you recommend as next steps?

Hi, everyone! I am not in the business but am a solo practitioner looking to set up a DB + 401k paired plan. The annual fees can erode the returns quite a bit. I was wondering if anyone can recommend lower cost offerings? Idealluy, below $2k annually. Thanks for any recommendations!

As a hypothetical, a small company with two participants in a 401K has one employee leave the plan, thus leaving the plan with a single employee. Assuming this small business wants to move forward with no employees, is there any path for converting the existing 401K into a Solo 401K? At first glance, you might think that the new Solo plan could be created (and that might be done at an online brokerage due to simplicity), and then the assets could be transferred from the old plan to new plan, and then at that point the old plan could be terminated. The problem is there are regulations that forbid you from opening a new 401K within 12 months of closing the old one. That seems to suggest that the only safe paths would be to do some kind of in-place conversion of the existing plan, but is there even an allowed process for that? Another solution might be to rollover the plan assets to IRAs, then sit on your hands for 12 months and open up a new 401K. What's the best solution here, keeping in mind that a small firm with under $250K in assets in a plan probably is not going to hire an ERISA lawyer for $20K to break new ground in interpreting seldomly-used corners of regulations.

Situation: husband and wife are co-owners of an LLC taxed as a partnership. They take draws, not W2s, and there are no other employees. LLC Operating Agreement splits income 10/90 between the two. They set up solo401k. Question: if the partnership contributes 20% of its profits to 401k, does it split up the contribution between the partners 50/50 (if that's what in operating agreement) or 10/90 according to the partnership share? Is there a problem if income is shared 10/90 but partnership contribution to 401k is split 50/50?