No 401k available - what other options?

My wife is an employee of a two person partnership without any company retirement plans. She is lucky enough to have the means to contribute more to retirement plans than the maximum contribution on a traditional IRA. What other plan options does she have to contribute more? It is my understanding she cannot open a SEP or SIMPLE plan because she is not self-employed. Is this correct?

Since SEP and SIMPLE plans are company funded plans, accordingly, they are suited for the self-employed, they are not for individuals. IRAs are the retirement plans that are used by individuals.

Money saved for retirement does not have to be placed in a "retirement" account, you could just open a regular brokerage account, and fund it with your after tax money, and save for your retirement that way. If you ever find yourself with a substantial amount of money in your investment accounts, you may want to talk to a financial planner about setting up a non-revokable trust that would hold your retirement assets.

Alternately, if you really want to contribute to a SEP, work for the two person partnership as a 1099 independant contractor, and become self employed that way.

Thanks. That's very helpful. The trust could be an option in the future, although we were hoping for tax-deferred retirement savings. Maybe we will consider the 1099 option as well.