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Payroll clears and the quarterly estimate goes out on time. Then, if anything is left at the end of the quarter, some of it might land in a retirement account.
If that sounds familiar, you’re far from the only one. Plenty of women who run their own businesses are meticulous about everyone else’s money and casual about their own future. Without an employer matching your contributions or enrolling you automatically, the gaps add up fast. Women in the U.S. also live about five years longer than men on average, so the money has to stretch further.
This article walks through which retirement plan fits your situation, how much you can put away for 2026, the deadlines that matter around year-end, and how to make saving happen without relying on willpower.
Why “I’ll Fund It Once the Business Is Stable” Rarely Works
The business always needs something: a new hire, a software upgrade, a slow month to cover, a bigger booth at next spring’s trade show. Reinvesting can feel like saving for retirement, because the company itself is supposed to be the nest egg.
That plan has two weak spots. A lot of small businesses never sell for what their owners expect, and some never sell at all. And every year you skip is a tax deduction you don’t get back. If you’re in the 24% federal bracket, a $10,000 contribution to a deductible plan cuts your federal income tax by roughly $2,400. Skip it, and that $2,400 goes to the IRS instead of your account.
Many women also step away from paid work for a stretch, to raise kids or care for a parent, and those years usually mean little or nothing going into retirement accounts. Owning a business doesn’t erase that gap. It just puts the job of closing it on you.
Retirement savings also give you something the business can’t: money that doesn’t depend on one industry or on your ability to keep working.
If It’s Just You, Compare the Solo 401(k) and the SEP IRA
For a business with no employees (a spouse who works in the business doesn’t count against you), these two plans do most of the work.
A SEP IRA is the simpler of the two. Only “employer” contributions go in, and as a sole proprietor you can contribute about 20% of your net self-employment earnings, up to $72,000 for 2026. There’s no catch-up contribution and no annual filing, and you can open and fund the account as late as your tax filing deadline, including extensions. That flexibility helps if your income swings: contribute heavily in a strong year, and skip a lean one without any penalty.
A solo 401(k) lets you contribute twice, once as the employee and once as the employer. For 2026, you can defer up to $24,500 of your earnings as the employee, then add the same roughly 20% employer contribution on top. The combined cap is $72,000, but catch-up contributions sit outside it: an extra $8,000 if you’re 50 or older, or $11,250 if you’re between 60 and 63.
Here’s where the difference shows up. Say your business nets $80,000. After the deduction for half your self-employment tax, a SEP tops out at about $14,900. A solo 401(k) allows that same $14,900 plus a $24,500 deferral, for close to $39,400. At moderate incomes, the solo 401(k) usually wins by a wide margin.
Most solo 401(k) providers also let you make the employee deferral as a Roth contribution. You give up the deduction now in exchange for tax-free withdrawals later, which can make sense in a lean year when your bracket is lower than you expect it to be in retirement.
It does come with a bit more paperwork. Once the account passes $250,000, you’ll file Form 5500-EZ each year. If your spouse works in the business and earns a paycheck, they can join the plan too, which can roughly double what your household saves.
Once You Have Employees, the Math Changes
Hiring your first non-spouse employee generally ends the solo 401(k) option, and it changes how a SEP works. With a SEP, whatever percentage you contribute for yourself, you have to contribute for every eligible employee. Putting away 15% for you means 15% for them.
That’s why many small employers move to a SIMPLE IRA. Employees fund most of it through their own payroll deferrals, up to $17,000 in 2026 plus another $4,000 at age 50 and older. You either match their contributions up to 3% of pay or put in a flat 2% for everyone eligible. It’s open to businesses with up to 100 employees and costs little to run.
The catch is timing. A SIMPLE IRA generally has to be set up by October 1 to cover that calendar year. If you’re reading this in November, it’s a 2027 decision, so put it on your January agenda before it slides again.
As your team grows, a traditional 401(k) becomes worth pricing out. It costs more to administer, but it allows much higher contributions than a SIMPLE.
The Accounts that Sit Alongside Your Main Plan
Your business plan doesn’t have to be your only retirement account. The full menu of retirement accounts available to self-employed business owners also includes traditional and Roth IRAs and, for anyone on a high-deductible health plan, a health savings account.
An IRA lets you add up to $7,500 for 2026, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older, on top of what goes into a SEP or solo 401(k). Whether a traditional IRA contribution is deductible depends on your income, because participating in a business plan counts as being covered by a workplace plan. Roth IRAs have their own income limits.
The HSA is the one people overlook. For 2026 you can contribute $4,400 for self-only coverage or $8,750 for family coverage, plus $1,000 once you turn 55. Contributions are deductible and the money grows tax-free. Spend it on medical costs and you never pay tax on it at all. After 65, you can take money out for anything and pay ordinary income tax on it, the same as a traditional IRA.
Healthcare is one of the largest expenses in retirement. If you expect a long one, an HSA deserves a place in the plan.
Treat Your Contribution Like a Bill with a Due Date
The plan you pick matters less than whether money actually goes into it. Owners with uneven income often wait until tax season to see what’s left, which almost guarantees the number will be small.
A steadier approach is to choose a percentage instead of a dollar amount. Moving 10% of every client payment into a separate savings account set aside for retirement keeps the habit going through slow months and busy ones. When the deadline arrives, the money is already sitting there.
These are the dates worth putting on your calendar:
- October 1: Last day to set up a SIMPLE IRA for the current year
- April 15: Last day to make IRA contributions for the prior year
- April 15: Last day for a sole proprietor to open a new solo 401(k) for the prior year and still make employee deferrals
- October 15: Extended deadline to open and fund a SEP for the prior year, if you filed an extension
The IRS usually announces the next year’s limits in the fall. Check the 2027 figures before you lock in next year’s percentage.
Start With The Plan That Fits The Business You Have Now
You don’t need to choose the perfect plan for the next 20 years. A SEP is a reasonable place to start, and you can move to a solo 401(k) once your income makes the extra deferral worth the paperwork. A SIMPLE can give way to a full 401(k) as your team grows.
What matters most is acting while the 2026 deduction is still on the table. Before December, pull your year-to-date profit, estimate your net earnings, and see which plan lets you save the amount you actually want. Then schedule the first transfer before the month is out.
