a few years after it has taken effect will be evidence that the plan from its inception was not a bona fide program for the exclusive benefit of employees in general. Especially will this be true if, for example, a pension plan is abandoned soon after pensions have been fully funded for persons in favor of whom discrimination is prohibited..." The IRS would have grounds to disqualify the plan retroactively, even if the plan sponsor initially got a favorable determination letter. Qualified retirement plans Qualified plans receive favorable tax treatment and are regulated by ERISA. The technical definition of qualified does not agree with the commonly used distinction. For example, 403(b) plans are not considered qualified plans, but are treated and taxed almost identically. The term qualified has special meaning regarding defined benefit plans. The IRS defines strict requirements a plan must meet in order to receive favorable tax treatment, including: A plan must offer life annuities in the form of a Single Life Annuity (SLA) and a Qualified Joint & Survivor Annuity (QJSA). A plan must maintain sufficient funding levels. A plan must be administered according to the plan document. Benefits are required to commence at retirement age (usually age 65 if no longer working, or age 70 1/2 if still employed). Once earned, benefits may not be forfeited. A plan may not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. A plan must be insured by the PBGC. Failure to meet IRS requirements can lead to plan disqualification, which carries with it enormous tax consequences. SIMPLE IRAs A SIMPLE IRA is a type of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that is provided by an employer. It is similar to a 401(k) but offers simpler and less costly administration rules. Like a 401(k) plan, the SIMPLE IRA is funded by a pre-tax salary reduction. However, contribution limits for SIMPLE plans are lower than for most other types of employer-provided retirement plans. SEP IRAs A Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account, or SEP IRA, is a variation of the Individual Retirement Account. SEP IRAs are adopted by business owners to provide retirement benefits for the business owners and their employees. There are no significant administration costs for self-employed person with no employees. If the self-employed person does have employees, all employees must receive the same benefits under a SEP plan. Because SEP accounts are treated as IRAs, funds can be invested the