Retirement Plans are vehicles which may be used to set aside tax deferred compensation for use by individuals at their retirement. There are many types of retirement plans, including defined benefit, pension profit-sharing, 401(k), multiemployer, ESOP, 403(b) Annuity, SEP, SIMPLE, IRA and Roth IRA.

Business owners may choose to offer retirement plans like payroll-deduction individual retirement arrangements, simplified employee pensions (SEPs), SIMPLE IRA plans, defined contribution plans (e.g. 401(k), profit-sharing, money purchase), or defined benefit plans.

Individuals may choose a traditional individual retirement arrangement or a Roth individual retirement arrangement in addition to participating in their employer sponsored retirement plan.

Every retirement plan has a life cycle, with four distinct stages through which the plan evolves. Before starting a plan, you may want to learn about this cycle. This article offers a basic understanding of the life cycle of a retirement plan and presents previously-released materials grouped in accordance with their applicable life cycle stage. 

The four stages of a retirement plan are: (1) choosing, (2) establishing, (3) operating, and (4) terminating.