The retirement plan your business income deserves.
You built something. But without the right plan structure, you're leaving hundreds of thousands in pre-tax deferrals on the table — and possibly paying more in taxes than you should. We help to optimize that.
Most high-income founders are dramatically underprepared for retirement.
Not because they aren't earning. Because no one structured their plan to match what they actually make — or what's possible.
"You've spent years building a business that generates real income. But your retirement strategy was probably designed for someone with a W-2 and a company match. That's the gap we close."
$0
Startup tax credits claimed
Most new plans qualify for up to $16,500 in IRS tax credits. Most founders never knew to ask.
~$7K
Average SEP-IRA annual deferral
Far below what a properly structured 401(k) + Cash Balance plan allows for the same income level.
35%+
Marginal rate paying taxes now
Every dollar you could have deferred — but didn't — was taxed at your highest rate. That's permanent loss.
How We Support You
Not just a plan. A retirement infrastructure built around your financial life.
Investably designs, implements, and manages ERISA-governed retirement plans end-to-end — so you capture every dollar available to you, stay fully compliant, and never have to think about the mechanics again.
Step 01
Plan Design & Structure
We start with your income, entity type, age, and goals — then design the optimal plan structure. Solo 401(k), safe harbor 401(k), or a combined 401(k) + Cash Balance plan that can unlock $100K–$300K+ in annual pre-tax deferrals for high earners.
Step 02
Tax Credit Capture
We identify every applicable SECURE 2.0 credit at plan inception — startup cost credits, employer contribution credits, and auto-enrollment credits — and make sure you don't leave a dollar behind in your first three years.
Step 03
ERISA 3(21) Co-Fiduciary
We serve as your ERISA 3(21) investment co-fiduciary — sharing fiduciary responsibility for investment decisions alongside you as plan sponsor. We select and monitor the investment lineup, provide documented recommendations, and bear shared liability so you're never carrying that weight alone. Where applicable, we also coordinate a 3(38) discretionary investment manager — fully transferring investment decision-making authority and liability away from you as plan sponsor.
Step 04
Actuarial & Compliance
We coordinate with third-party administrators for your annual actuarial valuations for Cash Balance plans, IRS funding calculations, Form 5500 preparation, nondiscrimination testing, and DOL reporting — all handled. You focus on your business; we keep the plan clean.
Step 05
Financial Wellness & Coaching
Ongoing enrollment support, annual retirement readiness reviews, deferral optimization coaching, and year-end tax coordination with your CPA — so the plan actually gets used to its full potential year after year.
The Difference
The fragmented approach vs. The Investably approach.
Founders may sometimes end up with a plan that was easy to set up — not one that was designed to maximize their outcome. Here's what that gap looks like in practice.
The Typical Approach
✕SEP-IRA or basic 401(k) set up for convenience, not optimization
✓Plan structure engineered to your income, age, and goals
✓Cash Balance analysis for every eligible high-income founder
✓All applicable SECURE 2.0 credits identified and claimed
✓3(21) co-fiduciary coverage — shared liability, your risk reduced
✓ERISA-compliant investment oversight from day one
✓Form 5500, actuarial valuations, and testing — all handled
✓Year-end coordination with your CPA on contribution strategy
✓Ongoing financial wellness that drives real deferral behavior
Why This Matters
Tax deferral isn't just a savings tool. It's a wealth acceleration strategy.
Every dollar you defer is a dollar that compounds tax-free — and a dollar that didn't go to the IRS at your highest marginal rate. Over a career, the difference between an optimized plan and a generic one is measured in the hundreds of thousands.
"A business founder contributing $23K annually to a SEP-IRA restructured to a combined 401(k) + Cash Balance plan — and deferred $288K in pre-tax contributions in the first full plan year. At that pace, accumulated plan contributions cross $1 million in under five years — entirely pre-tax."
— Hypothetical case study based on plan design outcomes typical for high-income solopreneurs. Individual results will vary based on income, age, and plan structure.
$300K+
Max annual deferral
Cash Balance + 401(k) combined, depending on age and income level
$16,500
Startup tax credits
Maximum IRS credits available to qualifying new plans over three years
35%+
Tax rate avoided
Every deferred dollar bypasses your marginal rate — compounding instead of paying
The Integrated Approach
The integrated approach for closely-held business founders.
Investably connects your retirement plan to your broader financial picture — tax strategy, cash flow, and long-term wealth goals — so every piece reinforces the others.
Retirement plan + tax strategy
Contribution decisions are coordinated with your CPA and tax profile — maximizing deductions in high-income years and adjusting when income dips.
Retirement plan + cash flow planning
We model your contribution capacity against your business cash flow so you're never over-committed — and never under-contributing when the income is there.
Retirement plan + business transitions
Scaling, hiring, selling — your plan structure evolves with your business. We adjust plan design, eligibility rules, and contribution strategy as your situation changes.
What Clients Come to Us With
The questions that don't have easy answers — until now.
Am I actually maximizing my retirement contributions, or just doing what's convenient?
I'm paying a massive tax bill every year. Is there a legitimate way to reduce it significantly?
I want to retire on my terms — not when I run out of options. What does it take to get there?
My employees deserve a good plan, but I don't have the bandwidth to manage all the compliance. Who handles that?
Someone mentioned a Cash Balance plan could let me defer $200K+ a year. Is that real, and do I qualify?
I've been self-employed for years and never set up a real plan. How much have I left behind, and what do I do now?
Why Work With Us
Built for the founders building lasting wealth.
Solopreneurs and small business founders are often underserved when it comes to retirement plan design — not because the tools don't exist, but because no one has brought institutional-quality expertise to where they actually are. That's exactly what Investably does.
"Founders building something real deserve the same level of rigor in their retirement plan as any large institution — from day one, not just when they've crossed some arbitrary threshold."
Solopreneur & founder specialty
We work exclusively with the kinds of clients most plan advisors overlook — self-employed professionals, single-owner businesses, and small teams in startup and growth phases where the plan design decisions matter most.
Startup to growth phase expertise
From first-year plan setup through hiring, scaling, and eventual business transition — we design plans that evolve with you, not plans built for where you were ten years ago.
Industry-leading plan providers
We work with best-in-class recordkeepers, third-party administrators, and actuarial firms — the same institutional-grade providers used by large plans — so your plan benefits from top-tier infrastructure regardless of its size.