🏢👋 Goin’ Solo fo’ Make Yoa Retirement Mo’ Solid

Becoming one solo entrepreneur afta yoa leave yoa employa can give yoa Social Security benefit and savings one lift. Hea’s da kine stuff fo’ know.

Russ Eanes was getting all tired at his job, and he just wen hit 60 — but he neva been ready fo’ retire. One former minister in da Mennonite church, he had worked fo’ ten years as one executive at one religious book publisher, but found himself in da unhappy role of helping fo’ make da organization smaller.

“I was getting really good at making tings smaller, but I jus’ decided I no like my life to be defined by firing people and selling buildings every few years,” he wen say. 😔🏢👋

He no like his work, along with da early death of his brother-in-law, wen push him fo’ look fo’ one new career path in 2018. “I had fo’ find something I could do fo’ da rest of my life dat I would love doing,” he wen say. 😞❤️‍🔥🛣️

Mr. Eanes was one hiker and cyclist, and he decided fo’ make one new life of independent work around dose interests and his spirituality. His first move was self-publishing one book in 2019 about his pilgrimage on da Camino de Santiago in Spain, followed by starting one business fo’ help odda writers publish their books. Da pandemic wen interrupt his plans fo’ couple years, even briefly forcing him back to full-time work — but now his publishing enterprise is getting higha again. 🚶‍♂️🚴‍♂️📚

“When you’re a writer, you gotta piece togedda one income unless you’re employed full-time by somebody — and very few of us get dat anymore.” 📝💰💼

Adding a few moa years of work to yoa retirement plan can be one of da best ways fo’ make retirement security betta, and some find dat da best way fo’ keep income flowing in one’s later years is one sole proprietor business of da kind Mr. Eanes started. Being one entrepreneur provides one bridge of income to a lata retirement — dat income can help you delay yoa Social Security claim, boosting those benefits. It might also help you save moa fo’ retirement. 🌉💵👴

Entrepreneurship comes in plenty kine ways, but think of dese businesses as one form of self-employment or gig work. Experts say such businesses often can be started fo’ as little as $5,000 to $10,000 to incorporate, create one website and brand identity, and to put odda necessities in place, like bookkeeping software. 💻📈💰

One big challenge is finding da right idea fo’ yoa business. Dat might mean continuing in yoa current field, or pursuing a new interest. But dese solo entrepreneur businesses also come with some financial challenges. One big one can be financing yoa living expenses while you wait fo’ da new business to start earning revenue. “Da big risk is dat yoa income will go down, at least temporarily and maybe permanently,” said Jill Schlesinger, author of “The Great Money Reset: Change Your Work, Change Your Wealth, Change Your Life.” “And fo’ plenty people, da idea dat you’re not receiving a regular paycheck is a little scary.” 💡🏦😱

Fo’ da solo entrepreneur, one of da biggest challenges stay replacing da health insurance wea da kine employer wen give. 🏥 If you old enough fo’ receive Medicare benefits, you stay lucky. Jus’ make sure file da kine paperwork confirming you wen had insurance from one employer aftah da mandatory enrollment age, which stay 65, so you no get one bad kine late-enrollment penalty.

No old enough fo’ Medicare? You still get some options. First off, if you get one spouse who stay working and get health insurance, try check if you can get covered undah dat policy, since da benefits for da employee group might be more strong den what you could buy as one individual.

If dat’s not one option, da best bet fo’ you would be one plan on top da Affordable Care Act insurance exchange. Wen you turn 65, gotta switch from da exchange to Medicare.

Da tax bill, gotta pay um 📄💸 Income dat you get as one independent contractor no goin’ have income tax taken out. Dat means you gotta estimate your annual income, den make quarterly estimated federal and (maybe) state income tax payments.

Along with paying income taxes, you gotta cover da full cost of your contributions to Social Security and Medicare cause you stay self-employed. But no worry, as one self-employed worker, you can take off half of these costs from your income taxes.

Set up your business as one limited liability company or one S corporation can let you pay yourself via payroll and can make um easier fo’ separate business and personal expenses.

Save fo’ retirement, whenever it comes 🏦 Along with letting you delay Social Security, working longah gives you da chance fo’ save more fo’ retirement. But any matching contribution to a 401(k) dat you may have had from your employer is now gone. Beginning in 2027, you may qualify fo’ a new direct federal government match undah provisions of da Secure 2.0 Act, signed into law late last year. Workers may qualify for a direct federal government 50 percent match up to $2,000 of a contribution to a retirement account. Da match phases out at different income levels, but single filers can qualify with incomes up to $35,500 ($71,000 for joint filers).

Self-employed people often find it hard fo’ make an automatic, regular contribution of a percentage of their income to an account since they may not be paying themselves on a regular basis. One bettah approach now going be to set a more flexible goal for an annual savings amount.

Brah, you can contribute to an Individual Retirement Account, but these come with annual contribution limits ($6,500 this year, as well as a $1,000 catch-up contribution for people over age 50) that you may want to exceed. One option is a Simplified Employee Pension I.R.A. This is a variety of the traditional I.R.A. that can accept contributions only from you as the employer. You generally can contribute up to 25 percent of your compensation, up to $66,000 for 2023.

Face da unknown 🎢 Experts say moving from full-time work to being one entrepreneur not only take longer than you might think — but also often comes with plenty twists and turns. “And wea you end up going be different than you expect,” says Marc Miller, who as the founder of Career Pivot coaches older workers on career transitions. “If you are adaptable and resilient, you going often end up in a better but different place than you planned.”

Mr. Eanes wen learn dat lesson fast wen he went solo. His first book was selling good in late 2019, but den da COVID-19 pandemic wen hit, and da speaking engagements wea he wen planning for supplement his income wen all pau (finished). He pivoted, started offering online courses and webinars, and den wrote one second book.

“As one entrepreneur, you gotta be ready fo’ adapt and change direction when things no go as planned,” says Mr. Eanes. “Get ready fo’ da unknown, stay flexible, and always look fo’ new opportunities.”

In da end, making da transition from full-time work to being one entrepreneur can be rewarding and challenging. No undaestimate da value of preparation, financial planning, and resilience. By taking da time fo’ make sure you stay ready fo’ da journey, you can set yourself up fo’ success in your new career path as one solo entrepreneur. So, go get um, brah! 🤙

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NOW IN ENGLISH

🏢👋 Becoming a Solo Entrepreneur to Solidify Your Retirement

Transitioning to solo entrepreneurship after leaving your employer can give your Social Security benefits and savings a boost. Here’s what you need to know.

Russ Eanes was growing tired at his job, and he had just turned 60 — but he wasn’t ready to retire yet. A former minister in the Mennonite church, he had worked for ten years as an executive at a religious book publisher, but found himself unhappily reducing the size of the organization.

“I was getting really good at downsizing, but I decided I didn’t want my life to be defined by laying people off and selling buildings every few years,” he said. 😔🏢👋

Discontent with his work, along with the early death of his brother-in-law, prompted him to seek a new career path in 2018. “I had to find something I could do for the rest of my life that I would love doing,” he said. 😞❤️‍🔥🛣️

Mr. Eanes was a hiker and cyclist, and he decided to create a new life of independent work centered around these interests and his spirituality. His first step was self-publishing a book in 2019 about his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, followed by starting a business to help other writers publish their books. The pandemic interrupted his plans for a couple of years, even briefly forcing him back to full-time work — but now his publishing enterprise is growing again. 🚶‍♂️🚴‍♂️📚

“When you’re a writer, you have to piece together an income unless you’re employed full-time by someone — and very few of us have that anymore.” 📝💰💼

Adding a few more years of work to your retirement plan can be one of the best ways to enhance retirement security, and some find that the best way to keep income flowing in later years is a sole proprietor business like Mr. Eanes started. Being an entrepreneur provides a bridge of income to a later retirement — that income can help you delay your Social Security claim, boosting those benefits. It might also help you save more for retirement. 🌉💵👴

Entrepreneurship comes in many forms, but think of these businesses as a form of self-employment or gig work. Experts say such businesses often can be started for as little as $5,000 to $10,000 to incorporate, create a website and brand identity, and to put other necessities in place, like bookkeeping software. 💻📈💰

A significant challenge is finding the right idea for your business. That might mean continuing in your current field or pursuing a new interest. But these solo entrepreneur businesses also come with some financial challenges. A significant one can be financing your living expenses while you wait for the new business to start earning revenue. “The big risk is that your income will go down, at least temporarily and maybe permanently,” said Jill Schlesinger, author of “The Great Money Reset: Change Your Work, Change Your Wealth, Change Your Life.” “And for many people, the idea that you’re not receiving a regular paycheck is a little scary.” 💡🏦😱

For the solo entrepreneur, one of the biggest challenges is replacing the health insurance that your employer provided. 🏥 If you’re old enough to receive Medicare benefits, you’re lucky. Just make sure to file the paperwork confirming you had insurance from an employer after the mandatory enrollment age, which is 65, so you don’t get hit with a late-enrollment penalty.

Not old enough for Medicare ? You still have some options. First, if you have a spouse who is working and has health insurance, check if you can get covered under that policy, as the benefits for the employee group might be stronger than what you could buy as an individual.

If that’s not an option, your best bet would be a plan on the Affordable Care Act insurance exchange. When you turn 65, you’ll have to switch from the exchange to Medicare.

The tax bill needs to be paid 📄💸. The income you receive as an independent contractor will not have income tax taken out. That means you have to estimate your annual income, then make quarterly estimated federal and (maybe) state income tax payments.

Along with paying income taxes, you’ll have to cover the full cost of your contributions to Social Security and Medicare since you’re self-employed. But don’t worry, as a self-employed worker, you can deduct half of these costs from your income taxes.

Setting up your business as a limited liability company or an S corporation can allow you to pay yourself via payroll and can make it easier to separate business and personal expenses.

Save for retirement, whenever it comes 🏦. Working longer allows you to delay Social Security, giving you the chance to save more for retirement. But any matching contribution to a 401(k) that you may have had from your employer is now gone. Beginning in 2027, you may qualify for a new direct federal government match under provisions of the Secure 2.0 Act, signed into law late last year. Workers may qualify for a direct federal government 50 percent match up to $2,000 of a contribution to a retirement account. The match phases out at different income levels, but single filers can qualify with incomes up to $35,500 ($71,000 for joint filers).

Self-employed people often find it hard to make an automatic, regular contribution of a percentage of their income to an account since they may not be paying themselves regularly. A better approach might be to set a more flexible goal for an annual savings amount.

You can contribute to an Individual Retirement Account, but these come with annual contribution limits ($6,500 this year, as well as a $1,000 catch-up contribution for people over age 50) that you may want to exceed. One option is a Simplified Employee Pension I.R.A. This is a variety of the traditional I.R.A. that can accept contributions only from you as the employer. You generally can contribute up to 25 percent of your compensation, up to $66,000 for 2023.

Face the unknown 🎢. Experts say moving from full-time work to being an entrepreneur not only takes longer than you might think — but also often comes with many twists and turns. “And where you end up will be different than you expect,” says Marc Miller, who as the founder of Career Pivot coaches older workers on career transitions. “If you are adaptable and resilient, you will often end up in a better but different place than you planned.”

Mr. Eanes learned that lesson quickly when he went solo. His first book was selling well in late 2019, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the speaking engagements he had planned to supplement his income all ended. He pivoted, started offering online courses and webinars, and then wrote a second book.

“As an entrepreneur, you have to be ready to adapt and change direction when things don’t go as planned,” says Mr. Eanes. “Be prepared for the unknown, stay flexible, and always look for new opportunities.”

In the end, making the transition from full-time work to being an entrepreneur can be rewarding and challenging. Don’t underestimate the value of preparation, financial planning, and resilience. By taking the
time to ensure you’re prepared for the journey, you can set yourself up for success in your new career path as a solo entrepreneur. So, go for it! 🤙