Shelter far more income, pre-tax, than a 401(k) alone allows.
For profitable business owners and high earners, a cash balance plan paired with your 401(k) can unlock tax-deductible contributions well beyond standard retirement limits — often into six figures for older owners. We design the combination and coordinate it so it holds up.
Schedule a call →A defined benefit plan that works alongside your 401(k).
A cash balance plan is a type of defined benefit plan, but it reads like a retirement account: each participant has a stated balance that grows through annual contributions and a set interest crediting rate. Because contribution limits on a defined benefit plan are driven by age and income rather than a flat cap, they can be dramatically higher than a 401(k) — and they rise as you get older and closer to retirement.
The “combo” is the key. Layered on top of a 401(k) and profit-sharing plan, a cash balance plan lets owners and key people stack contributions across both — capturing the 401(k)’s flexibility and the cash balance plan’s much larger deductible limits at the same time.
Built for consistent profits and high earners who want to defer more.
- Profitable businesses with steady, reliable income
- Professional practices — medical, dental, legal, and similar
- Owners and partners who are 40 or older
- High earners already maxing out their 401(k)
- Owners wanting to accelerate retirement savings quickly
- Businesses seeking a large, repeatable tax deduction
One honest note: a cash balance plan is a multi-year commitment, not a one-year move. It works best where profits are consistent enough to fund the plan annually. We’ll tell you up front whether it fits your situation before you commit to anything.
Big deductions and faster retirement funding, together.
Much larger contributions
Deductible contributions that can far exceed 401(k) limits — and that scale up with age, right when owners want to save the most.
Accelerated savings
Catch up on retirement quickly, moving substantial income into tax-deferred growth in a compressed window.
Asset protection
As an ERISA-qualified plan, cash balance assets generally carry strong protection from creditors.
We design it and manage it end to end.
Assess fit
We look at your income, ownership, staff, and goals to confirm a cash balance combo makes sense before you commit.
Design
We design the plan and contribution structure and coordinate the required actuarial work to set it up correctly.
Establish
The plan is documented and established alongside your 401(k) and profit-sharing, coordinated with your CPA.
Maintain
We keep the plan funded, tested, and compliant year over year — including the annual actuarial certification it requires.
Powerful — and unforgiving if it’s built wrong.
A cash balance plan has to be actuarially sound, funded on schedule, and coordinated with your 401(k) to pass the nondiscrimination testing both plans face together. Get the design wrong and you can fail testing, over- or under-fund, or trip the rules that govern how much benefit can favor owners. That’s why we design conservatively, coordinate the actuarial work properly, and stress-test the structure before it’s established — so the deduction is large and defensible, not just large. Optimize hard, never past the line.
See how much you could be contributing pre-tax.
A short call is enough to model what a cash balance combo could let you deduct — and to tell you honestly whether it fits your business.
Schedule a call →