The Freelancers Retirement Plan is a unique 401(k) savings tool available only to our members. It gives you access to the kind of investments that individuals can’t get by going it alone, and it has freelancer-friendly features you won’t find anywhere else:

You’ll also benefit from the usual tax advantages and high contribution limits of a 401(k). All you have to do to start preparing for your retirement is enter your birth year and decide how much you can sock away. Our team of experts will keep an eye on it, making sure your investments are performing.

Who can invest in this plan?

• Freelancers Union members who receive 1099 income
• Any member who has a balance in an eligible retirement plan from a previous employer to roll over

Note: If you're planning to contribute to a SEP account this calendar year, you may not enroll at this time. (You may need to speak with your accountant or SEP administrator to determine what the best plan is for you.)

Signing up is pretty darn easy

1. Complete the online form
2. View your customized Target Retirement Model
3. Print and mail your paper forms. 
4. Receive welcome email. You can now manage your new plan online.

There’s a calculator available on our website to help you decide how much money to start contributing. Here are other important features of our 401(k) that you may want to take into consideration:

• Regular savings with irregular income

  You’ll be able to increase, decrease, or stop your contribution each month based on your immediate finances and comfort level. You can play it safe when work is slow and make bigger contributions when you’re feeling flush.

• Two kinds of tax advantage

  When you invest pre-tax, you’re not paying taxes on the income that goes into the 401(k). Splendid! But you will pay taxes on the money ("payouts") you later take out from the plan—like when you retire.

  If you make Roth after-tax contributions, you pay taxes on your full income as usual, but your 401(k)'s earnings won’t be taxed, and you won’t have to pay taxes on the money ("payouts") you take from the plan later.

• Share the wealth . . . with yourself

  A 401(k) has higher contribution limits than your SEP or IRA option, so you can sock away even more for retirement. And if you’re a business owner you may also be able to make profit-sharing contributions to the Retirement Savings Plan in addition to contributions of your income.

• Baby, rollover!

  Do you have a neglected savings plan from your past employer, languishing like the bamboo plant you kept in your cubicle? Roll that money into a new 401(k) to simplify your finances. You may be paying lower fees if you roll over, too.

Send money by snail mail or bank debits

• Take advantage of automatic (yet flexible!) monthly transfers from your bank account.
• Or contribute by check during two periods each year (July and from December 15 through March 15. Profit Sharing contributions can be sent in after December 31 for the prior year).

Staying involved with your money

In addition to using our planning calculators, you’ll be able to change how much you’re contributing, and to which specific funds. And of course, you can view your balance and request loans or withdrawals. (All the IRS rules, process details, and fees for loans and withdrawals are in the Summary Plan Description.

We want to make investing as simple, intuitive, and manageable as possible. That’s why:

• Members are first enrolled in a default investment model created around their likely distance from retirement, as calculated by year of birth. The model selects more conservative investments as you get closer to retirement.
• If you prefer, you can customize your plan and adjust the distribution of your money across the different funds after you’ve enrolled. Accommodate your taste for risk or choose socially responsible funds.
• All of the investment funds are monitored by an impartial advisory committee aided by investment consultants at Milliman. These experts meet periodically and are responsible for determining whether the funds continue to meet defined objectives.
  
  Milliman provides retirement services for more than 3,000 retirement plans representing 2 million participants. Milliman will provide an account-management website and other participant services. That’s just one of the reasons we love them. (Another reason is that their street address is 1099!)

It takes money to make money

We’re proud that we’re able to offer a 401(k) at less than a quarter of what it would cost our members to set one up with a broker. Fees and a percentage of the funds’ expense ratios (a management fee charged by a specific fund, ranging from less than a half of a percent to 1.6%) cover the expenses of Charles Schwab Trust Company, Milliman Benefits, and Freelancers Union. All that translates into services for you:

• Educational events
• Legal and IRS compliance testing
• Website, telephone hotline, Benefit Service Center
• Daily update of accounts
• Monthly transfers/deposits and investments of contributions

Already enrolled?

Milliman customer service can handle most of your customer service needs:
866.767.1212, M–F, 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. EST (bilingual representatives available)
funteam@milliman.com

Want help enrolling? 

Freelancers Union Member Services  staff can help you with questions about the forms or enrolling on this website.

You can read about all these topics in greater detail in this Summary Plan Description.