Company 401k for only half the year - am I eligible for individual 401k?

[Swat]

A question came up from one of my senior co-residents who is entertaining job offers. He is currently a resident and our hospital offers a regular 401k as a W2 employee. He will graduate in June and take a position as an attending, but in the contract he mentioned that he won't have access to the 401k until he has been with the new practice at least 6 months (which will be 2018 then). We were discussing how much he is able to contribute and what the best strategy is?

-Can he max out his 18k portion for the first six months while still a resident (if he has the money to do so) and then setup a solo 401k for the rest of 2017 and contribute to that while an attending? Or does the fact that he did have some access to a regular 401k during the 2017 calendar year make him ineligible for a solo 401k?

[NoStacheOhio]

A question came up from one of my senior co-residents who is entertaining job offers. He is currently a resident and our hospital offers a regular 401k as a W2 employee. He will graduate in June and take a position as an attending, but in the contract he mentioned that he won't have access to the 401k until he has been with the new practice at least 6 months (which will be 2018 then). We were discussing how much he is able to contribute and what the best strategy is?

-Can he max out his 18k portion for the first six months while still a resident (if he has the money to do so) and then setup a solo 401k for the rest of 2017 and contribute to that while an attending? Or does the fact that he did have some access to a regular 401k during the 2017 calendar year make him ineligible for a solo 401k?

If he's a w-2 employee, I don't think he can open a soloK, since he isn't self-employed. This is reinforced by the fact that it's a six-month waiting period to become eligible.

Yes, he could max out the account for the year before leaving his current position.

[seattlecyclone]

You need to be self-employed for a solo 401(k). Sounds like the best bet is to contribute as much as possible before taking the new position.