A low-
cost, no-frills version of a 401(k) employee savings plan available to
companies with 25 or fewer employees. It allows employees to make pretax contributions to their
IRAs through
salary reduction each year. The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 replaced SARSEPs with
SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) plans. Existing SARSEPs were allowed to add new participants, but new plans could not be formed after December 31, 1996.