Contributions to a retirement plan can only be made from compensation, which, in the case of a selfemployed individual, is earned income. A SEP IRA is easy to set up, has low to no cost and has minimal maintenance.S Corps must follow certain rules for retirement plans and contributions. Learn how to correctly handle S Corp retirement contributions. Scorp owners, and their spouses have a vast array of retirement plan options to tap into. A shortlist of the most common retirement plans include: There are a lot of options with retirement planning within your LLC or S-Corp. Unfortunately for S-Corp owners, only W2 income can be recognized for qualified retirement plan purposes (not the pass-through income). With a Solo 401(k), a self-employed business owner can make contributions as both the employee and the employer. Unless you have a SARSEP plan established before 1997, SEP contributions are employer contributions only.