{"id":144974,"date":"2025-08-14T11:44:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T11:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/144974\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T11:44:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T11:44:15","slug":"5-retirement-options-if-you-dont-have-an-employer-sponsored-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/144974\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Retirement Options If You Don\u2019t Have an Employer-Sponsored Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A retirement plan<\/a> is often one of the major perks of working for an employer, and yet a shocking number of Americans do not have access to one through their jobs. That translates to almost half of the private sector workforce, or around 56 million workers, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.<\/p>\n

Find Out: I Asked ChatGPT When I Could Retire \u2014 I Couldn\u2019t Believe the Answer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read Next: 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Other workers may not have them because they\u2019re self-employed and haven\u2019t gotten around to setting one up. However, with the Biden-era SECURE Act 2.0 tax incentives finally starting to roll out, you might want to get something going.<\/p>\n

Lawrence \u201cLarry\u201d Divers, a certified retirement plan professional and executive vice president at Cannon Financial Institute<\/a>, suggested some options to consider if you can\u2019t count on an employer for a retirement plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you work for someone else but your employer doesn\u2019t offer a plan (or even if they do), you can (and should) still open your own IRA<\/a>, Divers urged.<\/p>\n

Divers said, \u201cthere is absolutely no reason not to\u201d open an individual retirement account (IRA), which he sees as the foundational retirement plan for those without employer plans.<\/p>\n

To contribute to an IRA, you need earned income, such as wages, salary or freelance income. In 2026, you can contribute up to $7,000 ($8,000 if you\u2019re 50 or older). Income limits apply to Roth IRAs, so high earners may be better off with a traditional IRA.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Divers recommended taking the work out of it by automating small, regular contributions. Many banks and brokerages allow you to set up recurring transfers that make saving effortless.<\/p>\n

Explore More: The Money You Need To Save Monthly To Retire Comfortably in Every State<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Younger people or those in lower tax brackets may want to consider the Roth IRA. You contribute to these accounts with after-tax dollars, but \u201cnot only are the earnings tax-free, if [the funds] are in there for five or more years, you\u2019re not going to get a penalty if you take it out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That flexibility can allow a Roth IRA to act as a potential source of funds for other things, such as buying a home, as well as retirement.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be a fancy small business or even have any employees beyond yourself to open self-employment retirement plans<\/a>. Divers said that a self-employed plan \u201cis literally taking money out of your left pocket and putting it in your right pocket and getting a tax deduction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

Some options include:<\/p>\n