According to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey, only 56 percent of American workers are currently saving for retirement. The survey also found that "a sizable percentage of workers say they have no or very little money in savings and investments." These statistics illustrate a critical role for advisors in retirement planning: helping clients catch up on retirement savings. One potential solution? The backdoor Roth IRA.

As you know, the SIMPLE IRA can be a valuable retirement plan option for many of your small business owner clients, especially those with fewer than 100 employees. But managing SIMPLE IRA plans can be complex, as there are numerous deadlines and regulations to keep on top of—including everything from when a plan can be established to annual notice requirements.

Here’s the good news: According to the EBRI 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey, retirement confidence has increased. The bad news? Many are still waiting too long to start saving, and those who are saving aren’t saving enough, creating a sizable retirement savings gap. As a result, advisors find themselves in high demand as investors look for help in creating savings strategies that will close that gap and get them closer to a more comfortable retirement.

In Notice 2014-54, the IRS provides new guidance on the allocation of pretax and after-tax amounts from qualified plan rollovers. Specifically, when qualified retirement plan participants make distributions to multiple accounts from plans containing both pretax and after-tax dollars, the amounts are now (as of January 1, 2015) treated as a single distribution. Therefore, participants can allocate a pretax and after-tax basis to separate accounts.