The Edward Jones SIMPLE IRA contribution transmittal form is the one-page document you complete each pay period to route retirement contributions from your business bank account into your employees’ individual SIMPLE IRA accounts at Edward Jones. You list every participating employee with their Social Security number, the amount withheld from their pay, and any employer match or nonelective contribution, then submit the form with a check or an electronic transfer. Accuracy matters: a wrong SSN, a mismatched total, or a missed deadline can freeze the deposit and expose you to Department of Labor and IRS penalties.
What to Gather Before You Start
Pull these items together first, because the form asks for all of them in a single pass:
- Your business’s legal name and Edward Jones Plan ID. The Plan ID ties your submission to your specific plan and was assigned by your Edward Jones financial advisor when the plan was set up.
- Each participating employee’s full legal name and Social Security number, matching IRS records exactly.
- Two contribution figures per employee: the salary reduction amount withheld from the paycheck, and the employer contribution (matching or nonelective). The form keeps these separate because they are reported and taxed differently.
- Your check number, or your bank routing and account numbers if you are paying electronically.
The sum of every employee’s individual amounts has to equal the total payment you are sending. When those numbers do not match, Edward Jones rejects the submission and the accounts sit unfunded until you resubmit.
Filling In the Header and Employee Grid
Start at the top. Enter your business name, Plan ID, the payroll date the contributions relate to, and the total dollar amount of the attached payment. If you are covering more than one pay period on a single form, note the date range.
The allocation grid is where each employee gets a row. Enter the employee’s name and Social Security number, then complete two columns: one for the salary reduction contribution withheld from that person’s paycheck, and one for the employer contribution you are adding on top. Some versions of the form include a third column that totals the two automatically. After the last row, add each column and verify that the grand total lines up with your check or transfer amount.
Check every Social Security number twice before you submit. A wrong digit means the contribution cannot post to the correct account, and fixing it after the fact requires a separate written request to Edward Jones. The form also has to be signed by someone at the company authorized to approve the transfer.
2026 Contribution Limits
The amounts you enter cannot exceed the annual caps. Anything above the limit becomes an excess contribution that has to be withdrawn or face tax penalties.
For 2026, an employee can defer up to $17,000 of salary into a SIMPLE IRA. Employees who are 50 or older by year-end can add a $4,000 catch-up, bringing the ceiling to $21,000. A higher catch-up of $5,250 applies to employees who are 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the year, giving them a maximum deferral of $22,250.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
Under SECURE 2.0, businesses with 25 or fewer employees can opt into higher limits. For these “applicable SIMPLE” plans, the basic employee deferral limit rises to $18,100 for 2026, and the catch-up amount for employees aged 50 to 59 (or 64 and older) is $3,850. The $5,250 catch-up for ages 60 through 63 is the same regardless of employer size.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
On the employer side, you pick one of two formulas each year. The matching option is dollar for dollar up to 3% of each employee’s compensation, and you can reduce that match to as low as 1% in any two years out of a five-year window. The alternative is a 2% nonelective contribution for every eligible employee, whether or not they contribute themselves. The nonelective contribution is calculated on compensation up to the annual limit, which has been $345,000 in recent years and is adjusted for cost of living.2Internal Revenue Service. SIMPLE IRA Plan
When the Deposit Has to Reach the Accounts
Employee salary reductions have to be deposited on the earliest date you can reasonably separate them from your general business assets.3Internal Revenue Service. SIMPLE IRA Plan Fix-It Guide – You Didn’t Deposit Employee Elective Deferrals Timely For most small plans, that is a few days after payroll.
There is a safe harbor. If your plan has fewer than 100 participants, depositing salary reductions within seven business days of the payroll date is automatically considered timely. The outer deadline for SIMPLE IRA plans is the 30th calendar day after the month in which the money would otherwise have been paid to the employee.4eCFR. 29 CFR 2510.3-102 – Definition of Plan Assets – Participant Contributions Missing the 30-day window is treated as a prohibited transaction that can carry a 15% excise tax on the late amount for each year it remains uncorrected, plus a potential 100% additional tax if you never fix it.5Internal Revenue Service. You Haven’t Timely Deposited Employee Elective Deferrals
Employer matching and nonelective contributions for a given calendar year have a longer runway. They are due by the filing deadline of your business’s federal income tax return, including extensions.6Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding SIMPLE IRA Plans Even so, most employers put the match on the same transmittal form as the salary reductions each pay period, because it is easier to track and harder to forget.
Mailing the Form or Submitting Online
You can send the transmittal form by mail or through the Edward Jones employer portal. For a paper submission, mail the completed form and check to the Edward Jones processing center listed on your form’s instruction page. The address depends on your region, so use the specific form your financial advisor provided. Write your Plan ID on the check’s memo line so the payment can be matched to your allocation list.
Online, log in to the Edward Jones employer portal, enter the allocation data, confirm your bank routing and account numbers, and authorize the electronic transfer. The portal returns a confirmation receipt with a reference number. Either way, check the plan’s transaction history within a few business days to confirm that each employee’s account received the right amount.
Fixing a Late Deposit
If salary reductions arrive late, you owe the affected employees the investment earnings the money would have generated had it been deposited on time. You calculate those earnings and deposit them into each employee’s SIMPLE IRA as an additional contribution.3Internal Revenue Service. SIMPLE IRA Plan Fix-It Guide – You Didn’t Deposit Employee Elective Deferrals Timely
When you cannot determine the actual investment return, you can use the interest rate from the Department of Labor’s online calculator, available through the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. The VFCP lets you self-correct certain late deposits and receive a no-action letter confirming the violation is resolved.7U.S. Department of Labor. Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program On the IRS side, the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System offers a parallel path for operational failures. A late deposit can create both a prohibited transaction and a plan operational failure, so you may need to address it with both agencies.
The Annual Notice You Have to Send First
Before you process contributions for a new year, the annual notification obligation has to be met. You have to give every eligible employee a written notice before November 2, the start of the 60-day election period that runs through December 31. The notice tells employees they can start, change, or stop salary reduction contributions for the coming year, informs them whether they can pick their own financial institution for their SIMPLE IRA, and identifies which employer contribution method you have chosen.8Internal Revenue Service. Annual SIMPLE IRA Plan Notification Requirements Weren’t Followed
New hires who become eligible mid-year need the same notice on their eligibility date, along with a summary plan description.9U.S. Department of Labor. SIMPLE IRA Plans for Small Businesses Keep dated copies of every notice you distribute, along with copies of each transmittal form and payment confirmation. Those records are your proof of compliance if the IRS or DOL audits the plan.