Meet Kim, Chef

Kim, a successful restaurant owner in Chicago, has always understood the value of saving. While she used a chunk of her savings to start her restaurant, she continues to utilize personal savings and, with her financial advisor’s guidance, additional investment vehicles with varying strategies for short- and long-term growth.

When she found out she would be required to offer a retirement plan to her employees via the Illinois Secure Choice state mandate, she wanted to offer a retirement benefit to her employees that would help them max out their long-term savings. Kim’s financial advisor showed her how the tax incentives and deductions given for starting a small business 401(k) plan could help offset some of her business expenses, while also giving her a valuable employee retention and recruiting tool.

With over 100 employees, a 401(k) plan that offers payroll integration capabilities was a no-brainer. She was looking for a provider that could partner with her current payroll system to minimize her administrative tasks, like tracking participant eligibility and enrollment. Kim and her financial advisor agreed that a CoPilot Prime 401(k) plan made the most sense for her and her small business; her advisor will check in on a regular basis and is available to provide advice, while CoPilot’s service provides the day-to-day administrative support Kim needs on the plan.

With a high number of part time employees and high turnover, Kim included eligibility requirements in her plan design. She has elected an age eligibility requirement of 21 and a service requirement of 12 months. This means only employees who are 21 or older and have worked for her company for one year can start participating in the plan. With a large number of high school and college students working temporarily for her throughout the year, these requirements cut down on the plan administration and tracking for a subset of her employees.

In addition to providing an employer match option, she setup a 6 year graded vesting schedule which means the longer an employee works for her, the higher the percentage employer contributions will be vested.  At two years of service, they will be 20% vested, at four years of service they will be 60% vested, and at six years of service they will be 100% vested, meaning all of the employer contributions will be 100% theirs at that time. She hopes these plan features will continue to encourage longevity of her staff and build a dedicated employee base.

Many small business owners can relate to Kim’s goals, attitudes, and challenges when it comes to running her small business while also preparing for her financial future.

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