Can Artists Retire?

Like anyone, Artists should be able to retire and be able to enjoy a period of life where they don’t have to work. Artists are able to retire if they make more than enough money to survive in order to save money in retirement plan over a long period of time.

There are many options available to artists (and all people who are self-employed) to prepare for retirement . The first type of plan that artists should consider when planning for retirement is a solo 401K. This is similar to the type of 401K plans traditional employees can contribute to, but they provide the benefit to of allowing contributions to it as both an employee and an employer. For 2026, an artist can contribute 100% of their earned income up to $24,500 as an employee and up to 25% of their compensation as an employer (if they under 50). Artists cannot have any W-2 employees (aside from your spouse) to have a solo 401K. If an artist takes on a W2 employee, the solo 401K must covert to a traditional 401k.

Another type of account that artists should consider when planning for retirement is a simplified employee pension IRA (SEP IRA). A SEP IRA is similar to solo 401K, however, artists are only able to contribute to them as employers. For 2026, artists can contribute the lesser of 25% of their compensation or $72,000. SEP IRAs allow artists to have employees, but the artists will have to contribute the same amount to their employee’s account as their own.

Another type of account that artists should consider when planning for retirement is a savings incentive match plan for employees (SIMPLE IRAs). A SIMPLE IRA is simple to a SEP IRA, but has different contribution rules. Artists can defer up to $17,000 of their salary in 2026 as employees subject to cost of living adjustments. As an employer, they are required to make a contribution every year. The contribution must match employee contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of their compensation (or 4% under new SECURE 2.0 rules for some employers), or make a flat 2% contribution to all eligible employees regardless of whether employees contribute.

Lastly, many states (and few cities) have state-administered retirement savings programs that artists (and any self-employed person) is eligible to join.