Retirement Plan Design | Blue Ridge Associates

Tailored Retirement Plan Solutions for Your Business

At Blue Ridge, we understand that a well-designed retirement plan is more than just a benefit—it’s a strategic tool that can attract top talent, retain valued employees, and support their financial readiness for retirement. Your retirement plan should be as unique as your business, reflecting your company’s goals, employee demographics, and financial objectives. That’s why we offer custom retirement plan design services that align perfectly with your needs.

Is Your Current Retirement Plan Meeting Your Needs?

A successful retirement plan boosts employee satisfaction while offering substantial tax advantages for employers. At Blue Ridge, we go beyond expectations to create a retirement plan that fits your unique needs. We start by deeply understanding your business and its goals. By evaluating your employee demographics, financial resources, and tax objectives, we tailor a retirement plan specifically designed to achieve your objectives.

Our Custom Retirement Plan Design Options

We offer a range of plan design solutions to ensure that your retirement plan is customized to fit your specific business needs. Here are some of the options we can explore together:

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans

Safe Harbor plans provide all eligible employees with an employer contribution, ensuring compliance with annual IRS nondiscrimination testing. This option simplifies plan administration and helps you avoid potential compliance issues, offering both predictability and peace of mind.

Cross-Testing (New Comparability)

Cross-Testing allows for the creation of different benefit groups with distinct contribution rates, which can be advantageous for older, higher-paid employees. This design increases flexibility, making it easier to meet diverse needs.

Automatic Enrollment & Automatic Escalation

Automatic Enrollment streamlines plan participation by automatically enrolling employees and setting a default contribution percentage, though employees can choose to opt out or adjust their contributions. Coupled with Automatic Escalation, which gradually increases contribution rates over time, this design fosters increased employee savings without requiring employee involvement.

Traditional Pension Plans

We design traditional pension plans that provide employees with guaranteed retirement income based on a formula that considers salary history and years of service. This type of plan is ideal for organizations committed to offering stable, long-term benefits.

Cash Balance Plans

Cash Balance Plans combine the advantages of traditional pension plans with the flexibility of defined contribution plans. They offer higher contribution limits, making them an excellent option for businesses seeking enhanced retirement solutions.

Prevailing Wage Plans

For contractors subject to “prevailing wage” laws, we offer tailored solutions that allow contributions to be treated as fringe benefits. This approach can lead to payroll tax savings and improve your plan’s compliance with nondiscrimination regulations.

403(b) Plans

Similar to 401(k) plans but designed for nonprofit organizations, 403(b) plans offer flexible and innovative design solutions. They provide the same level of customization and strategic planning to meet the unique needs of nonprofit entities.

Adapting Your Plan as Your Business Evolves

At Blue Ridge, we believe in a dynamic approach to plan design. We begin by gathering comprehensive data and engaging in detailed discussions with your team to pinpoint what’s important to you. We then present a design illustration that matches your business’s current needs and future goals.

Our commitment to your success doesn’t end with the implementation of your plan. We continuously monitor and review your plan design to ensure it remains aligned with your evolving business objectives. Whether your company grows, changes direction, or faces new challenges, our team is ready to adapt your retirement plan accordingly, providing ongoing support and adjustments as needed.

A man and a woman work at a construction site

Why Choose Blue Ridge 401(k) & Pension?

Partnering with Blue Ridge means choosing a dedicated team of retirement plan experts who are committed to delivering exceptional service and tailored solutions. We pride ourselves on our ability to:

Provide Expertise

Our team brings deep knowledge and experience to the table, ensuring your plan is designed to maximize benefits and compliance.

Offer Custom Solutions

We work closely with you to develop a plan that is uniquely suited to your business needs and goals.

Ensure Ongoing Support

We don’t just set up your plan and walk away; we provide continuous support and adjustments to keep your plan aligned with your business’s evolving needs.

Advisor Collaboration is Our Key to Success

We provide professional retirement plan consulting solutions to financial advisors of all specialties and levels of expertise. We believe that to provide the best possible experience for our clients, we need our services to complement and enhance the work of financial advisors. We are dedicated to being a valuable partner on your retirement plan team.

Learn More

“My company has been using Blue Ridge 401(k) for the past 10+ years. Everyone I have dealt with has been professional, friendly, and helpful! As an HR department of one for a small company, their help is indispensable to me.”

Christine Crossan

HR Manager, McCormick Computer Resale, Inc.

Let’s Design Your Retirement Plan

Contact us today to learn more about how Blue Ridge can design a retirement plan that enhances your company’s benefit offerings and supports your employees’ financial future. Let us help you build a retirement plan that works as hard as you do, providing peace of mind and strategic advantage for your business.

Request a Proposal