Find clear and concise answers to the most common questions about EZIRA

Frequently Asked Questions

The EZ IRA is a retirement savings program integrated with leading payroll partners across the country to encourage employees save through payroll deductions. The program was designed to provide employers a simple enrollment platform which allows employees to control their contributions through automatic payroll deductions.

The EZ IRA is a low cost, easily integrated retirement option with Legg Mason managed mutual funds with access to a personal financial advisor. Additionally several states have begun to institute retirement mandates and the EZ IRA is a great alternative.

The annual cost is $200 regardless of the number of employees who enroll which charged at registration and is collected at each anniversary. If you are a member of an approved association or utilize one of our preferred payroll partners, the annual cost is discounted to $100.

In less than 5 minutes! We’ve have made the enrollment as EZ 1,2,3. .

Enroll your company. Invite your employees to participate. Employees save through payroll deductions.

Yes. There are other employee benefits available – please ask your representative for more information.

Anyone who is eligible for an IRA under the IRS guidelines may participate including any 1099’s, full time and part time employees.

There is no minimum participation requirement.

Not under the current IRS individual retirement account options which do not allow third-party contributions.

The Traditional and Roth both allow a maximum of $5,500. An additional $1,000 catch up contribution is acceptable by persons age 50 or older with earned income.

The Traditional IRA allows you to take a tax deduction in the year of the contribution and grows tax deferred. When you get to retirement any withdrawals are taxable as income after you reach 59 ½.

The Roth is an after tax contribution. The benefit of the Roth IRA is that your contributions grow tax-free and you can make withdrawals 5 years after account inception.

The EZ IRA is a retirement savings program which allows employees to save through automatic payroll deductions, making it an ideal way to begin or compliment your retirement.

IRA stands for Individual Retirement Account which is basically a savings account. The IRA is the account which holds your cash and investments.

Visit www.ezira.com or the link provided by your employer, click on the Employee tab and register. You will be required to enter a registration code which should be provided by your employer.

Your employer will provide your registration code or you can complete the registration request form or visit the link: https://client.ivezt.com/Account/RegistrationRequest

The short answer: as soon as possible. The sooner you begin saving, the more time your money can grow. Due to the fact that the earnings are not taxable you are able to reinvest the money as it grows. The time value of money allows your account to grow over time in order to maximize your retirement nest egg.

The Traditional and Roth both allow a maximum of $5,500. An additional $1,000 catch up contribution is acceptable by persons age 50 or older with earned income.

The Traditional IRA allows you to take a tax deduction in the year of the contribution and grows tax deferred. When you get to retirement any withdrawals are taxable as income after you reach 591/2.

The Roth is an after tax contribution. The benefit of the Roth IRA is that your contributions can grow tax-free and you can generally make withdrawals tax and penalty free after you reach 59 ½.

An EZ IRA account is only $1.00 per week ($52.00 annually) which is deducted from your account at the end of each quarter.

There is no minimum contribution and no minimum balance with the EZ IRA program.

 

Yes. You have complete control over your account to make adjustments to the amount you contribute.

Yes. You can contribute to your traditional or Roth IRA at any time during a calendar year, and contributions can be made up to the first deadline for your tax return. Example: IRA contributions for tax year 2016 are due by April 15, 2017.
Yes. Contributing through payroll deductions means you are dollar cost averaging. This investment strategy can reduce the impact of market volatility. By investing in mutual funds each payroll period allows you to consistently buy an investment regardless of market price. This over time reduces the cost due to fluctuations in the market.

Legg Mason has partnered with the EZ IRA to offer best in class mutual funds over their numerous mutual fund holdings. Legg Mason manages over $732 billion in assets worldwide and has a century of experience.

To learn more: https://www.leggmason.com/en-us/investing/retirement/ez-ira.html

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The EZ IRA is a retirement savings program integrated with leading payroll partners across the country to encourage employees save through payroll deductions. The program was designed to provide employers a simple enrollment platform which allows employees to control their contributions through automatic payroll deductions.

The Traditional and Roth both allow a maximum of $5,500. An additional $1,000 catch up contribution is acceptable by persons age 50 or older with earned income.ctions.

This is an excellent option for your clients that do not want to make a participant contribution and do not want the complications/cost of the standard ERISA plans.
There are 68 million working Americans that do not have access to a retirement option through their employer. The fact is the traditional retirement plans (ERISA Plans) have become too cumbersome due to regulation, fiduciary liability and cost. Studies have shown that employees saving through payroll is the largest segment of retirement savings.
Currently there are several states that have either adopted laws or are working on legislation that require Employers to offer at a minimum a payroll deduction IRA or face fines and/or penalties. The Federal government and states have realized that the retirement crisis is real and due to the ease of saving through payroll this is the best option to help Americans prepare for retirementent savings.

Yes. If your clients are not making a contribution for the employees through the match or profit sharing option in the 401k this is an excellent way to offer a retirement benefit and save the cost and liability of ERISA plans. We have found that when the employer of a noncontributory plan has the option to remove the liability/cost of the 401k they have chosen to do so a majority of the time. The cost savings has allowed them to offer other benefits to greatly enhance their employee’s benefit package i.e. medical gap policies, short and long term disability, other voluntary and financial products.

Yes. If your clients are not making a contribution for the employees through the match or profit sharing option in the 401k this is an excellent way to offer a retirement benefit and save the cost and liability of ERISA plans. We have found that when the employer of a noncontributory plan has the option to remove the liability/cost of the 401k they have chosen to do so a majority of the time. The cost savings has allowed them to offer other benefits to greatly enhance their employee’s benefit package i.e. medical gap policies, short and long term disability, other voluntary and financial products.

Saving for the future has never been this simple. With EZ IRA, it's truly as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Watch your retirement savings grow with confidence, knowing you’re on the right track.