a superior tax strategy for business owners

Schedule a Meeting

CASH BALANCE PLANS ALLOW CONTRIBUTIONS of UP TO $433,500 PRE-TAX

Who is an ideal candidate?

Any highly compensated individual who desires to contribute more than $61,000 ($67,500 with catch-up) to their 401(k) accounts. Contribution limits are based on the age of the business owner.


Dentists, lawyers, medical professionals, accountants, or closely held family businesses are excellent candidates. Cash Balance Plans work well for both large and small businesses.

Young Business People Discussing Over Laptop — Fishers, IN — Norwood Economics

WHAT IS A CASH BALANCE PLAN?

A Cash Balance Plan is a type of IRS-qualified retirement plan. Cash Balance Plans are known as “hybrid” plans. They're called "hybrid" plans because even though they're defined benefit plans, they allow participants to roll their money into an IRA when they leave or retire. Assets are creditor protected and portable.


Many professionals and entrepreneurs neglect their personal retirement savings while they’re building their practice or company. They often need to catch-up on years of missed savings opportunities. Adding a Cash Balance Plan allows them to rapidly accelerate savings with pre-tax contributions resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in tax savings annually.

recent blog posts

It's No Longer Your Grandfather’s or Even Your Father's Stock Market

By Christopher Norwood • November 17, 2025
Executive Summary The S&P 500 was flat last week The U.S. government is once again open for business Markets thrive when liquidity rises GDP grows faster when the government spends more The odds that the Fed will cut a quarter-point on December 10th fell to 45.8% The S&P 500 is a concentrated index, heavily weighted toward technology Diversification reduces risk without necessarily reducing return Deciding when to take Social Security is about maximizing your benefit (A quick note this week due to travel on my part. You’ll find a variety of comments about last week’s market and events that may impact the stock and bond markets. Also, some thoughts on conversations with clients.) The S&P 500 was flat last week and is testing its 50-day moving average again (purple line below). We may see a down week this week. A fall below November 7th’s low of 6631.44 would likely lead to a further drop. A lower high and lower low would be in place, the definition of a down trend.

A Diversified Portfolio Will Help You Weather the Next Bear Market

By Christopher Norwood • November 10, 2025
Executive Summary The S&P 500 fell 1.6% last week to close at 6,728.8 There was a widespread sell-off in the Tech space The Nasdaq Composite had its worst week since the week ending April 4th The jobs market is a concern for the Federal Reserve Data is scarce, but the jobs market seems steady U.S. services sector economic activity picked up in October A diversified portfolio is more important for risk management than ever The S&P 500 fell 1.6% last week to close at 6,728.8. The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.1% on the week. The declines were blamed on a report released Thursday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, according to Barron’s. But the market fell throughout the week. The Challenger Gray report wasn't released until Thursday. The report may have helped sink the market last week, but it wasn't the lone catalyst.

The Fed Cut the Funds Rate Last Week, but Why?

By Christopher Norwood • November 3, 2025
Executive Summary The S&P 500 rose 0.7% last week to finish at 6,840.20 The S&P is up 16.3% year-to-date A stock represents ownership in a business The S&P 500 is rising at an increasing rate, and that can't go on forever Profit margins have been stable over the long run The Federal Reserve cut the Fed funds rate by one quarter point last Wednesday, but why? Inflation appears nowhere near declining to the Fed’s 2% target The annualized headline CPI September number was the second-highest since January Inflation is hurting the lowest 50% of income earners in the U.S.