We partner with financial advisors who provide financial and tax consulting for farmers. In the past, these farmers have invested heavily in equipment to take advantage of tax deductions but have been slow to build up retirement savings. Defined Benefit and Cash Balance plans allow them to quickly accumulate retirement wealth and take advantage of large tax deductions.
A farmer, age 58, wants to retire in five years. He has a multi-million-dollar stockpile of grain that he can sell over the course of five years.
Working together with his CPA and financial advisor, Dedicated DB ran scenarios at different compensation levels to help them figure out how much grain to sell, taking into account his other deductions, etc. to arrive at his desired $224,000 annual contribution level. We opened a OnePersonPlus Defined Benefit plan for him and a OnePerson(k) with optional contributions:
-
2026 Schedule F (line 32) Income
$363,000
-
2026 DB Contribution
$222,300
-
2026 Optional 401(k) Contribution
$39,545
-
2026 Estimated Tax Savings
$96,880
-
Estimated DB Accumulation in 5 years
$1.35 million
Special Considerations for Farmers
- For farmers nearing retirement, it is not uncommon to have inventory valued over $1 million. Were they to sell it all at one time, they would owe a lot in taxes without having off-setting deductions. If the farmer can spread the sale of the inventory over several years, they can open a Defined Benefit plan and make large contributions to the plan each year. Rather than incur a large tax liability as they are about to retire, taxes are deferred until assets in the Defined Benefit plan are withdrawn.
- Many small farms have family members working in the business. A traditional or Cash Balance Defined Benefit plan can be designed to provide larger contributions and benefits for the elder members of the family. In this way, they will be taking some of their equity in the business out as income that will help fund their retirement. The senior members can continue to consult to the business with the majority of their compensation funding their tax-deductible plan contribution.
- Farmers who have taken advantage of section 179 of the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015” (PATH) often take on debt to buy equipment in order to shelter high income. However, farmers who are older may be less interested in investing in additional equipment. The defined benefit solution can provide the tax deduction without taking on additional debt.