I wrote to Vanguard and got this information. Hope it helps.
Dear DocCyane:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. The Vanguard i401(k) Plan
would be appropriate for you, as long as you do not have any common law
employees. It really is for owners, spouses, and partners. Assuming this
fits you, below you will find the details of our i401(k) Plan.
To answer your questions, the fund minium for any of our $3,000 funds is
waived for the Vanguard i401(k) Plan. You can start with any amount. You do
need to have the plan established by December 31, 2014 if you are making
contributions for 2014. You do not have to fund the account by December 31,
2014, but you do have to have the plan established. You have up until your
tax filing deadline to make contributions to the plan.
The VanguardŽ Individual 401(k) Plan is easy to manage and allows
small-business owners and their non-common law employees or self-employed
individuals to make significant tax-deductible contributions to retirement
accounts. The program is offered at no cost to an employer.
For additional information about individual 401(k) plans, refer to IRS
Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business, available at
www.irs.gov.
Establishing an Individual 401(k) Plan at Vanguard >>
You can establish a plan by completing the forms in our Individual 401(k)
New Account Kit, which is available online through the following link:
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/literature/search?searchInput=S571&search_mode=trueHow to contribute >>
You can make contributions online through Vanguard Small Business OnlineŽ,
our website for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. You can also
use the site to view, update, and submit your plan's contribution data,
participant information, and bank information.
You can view and register for the site through the following link:
http://smallbiz.vanguard.comContribution limit >>
The elective salary deferral limit is $17,500 for 2013 and 2014.
Participants age 50 or over may elect to defer an additional $5,500 (for a
total of $23,000). Elective deferrals also cannot exceed 100% of
compensation. If your plan allows, participants may designate these
contributions as pre-tax or after-tax (Roth). The elective deferral limit
is the maximum amount you may contribute among all of the Individual 401(k)
plans in which you participate in a given year, including Individual Roth
401(k)s.
Employer contributions of up to 25% of an employee's compensation--not to
exceed $51,000 for 2013 or $52,000 for 2014--may be made each year to each
employee's Individual 401(k). Employer contributions are discretionary,
which means that employers may change their contribution percentage from
year to year or even skip years. Note that the same percentage must apply
to each participant's Individual 401(k) Plan account.
Participant account access >>
Participants who are registered for online access can view their accounts
at
www.vanguard.com. They can also accomplish these tasks by calling us at
888-285-4563.
Account fees >>
Participants are charged an annual account service fee of $20 for each
mutual fund they hold in their Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plan account.
This fee cannot be prepaid and will be deducted from the account in June.
You can get more information about our retirement plans, funds, and
services, as well as access our Individual 401(k) New Account Form, through
the following link:
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/whatweoffer/smallbusinessIf you have additional questions, please call Vanguard at 800-376-9162.
Specialists are available on business days from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Eastern
time.
Sincerely,
Jim Connolly
Registered Representative
Vanguard Concierge Services