SIMPLE plan rules for employees

Our clients have a partnership and want to open a SIMPLE plan. They also have an employee who is “full time” under the IRA definition (more than 1000 hours/year). The employee does not want to contribute salary deductions to the plan.
1. Do they have to open a SIMPLE IRA account even if the employee doesn’t want to contribute?
2. They will be doing the 3% match. Do they have to contribute anything to the employee’s SIMPLE account?



  1. No, if the employee elects to reject salary reduction contributions, they are not entitled to a contribution even though they are eligible to contribute.  Further, they will not receive a matching contribution since there is nothing to match.
  2. See above. If employer changed to 2% non elective contributions, they would have to contribute and a SIMPLE IRA account for the employee would have to be opened by the employer if the employee refused to open the account.

You mention above that the employer would have to open an account for the employee if they refused to open an account.  I have a client who is making 2% non-elective contributions, but has several employees who refuse to open a Simple IRA account.  So exactly how is this handled?  Do they just keep funds equal to the contribution segregated in another account?  I’m perplexed by the employee’s unwillingness to open an account.  

As indicated in your other thread, the employer must open a SIMPLE IRA for each eligible employee to receive the non elective contributions.  Perhaps if the client had been using matching contributions instead of non elective, these accounts for non participating employees would not have to be opened. The client can budget and save the non elective contributions anyway they choose, but the contribution must be made to the individual SIMPLE IRA accounts to count as contributions made.

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