Fidelity is one of the default retirement homes for HVAC owner-operators and small shops, largely because the brand is familiar, the IRA-based plans carry no account fees, and most business owners already have a personal Fidelity login. For a sole proprietor HVAC tech or a two-person husband-and-wife shop, the Self-Employed 401(k) lets the owner contribute both as employee (up to $23,500 in 2025, plus catch-up) and as employer (up to 25% of compensation), maxing out at $70,000 in 2025 with no administrative fee and a Roth option. The SEP IRA offers similar employer limits with simpler setup and no annual Form 5500 filing, while the SIMPLE IRA fits HVAC shops up to 100 employees that want an easier on-ramp than a full 401(k).
For HVAC employers with W-2 staff who want a real group 401(k), the Fidelity Advantage 401(k) is a prepackaged plan with safe harbor match (up to 4% of pay), a $300 quarterly employer administration fee, and $25/quarter per participant plus 0.125% of account balance per quarter for investment services. That per-participant structure is more expensive than flat-fee competitors as headcount grows, but in exchange employees get Fidelity's full brokerage app, research, and mobile experience, plus access to index funds with industry-low expense ratios.
Fidelity is not tailored to prevailing-wage HVAC work and does not specialize in Davis-Bacon fringe administration, but for a typical residential HVAC shop with 5-30 W-2 employees and no federal wage determinations, it is a credible, brand-name choice. The biggest watch-out is the asset-based wrap fee on Fidelity Advantage, which makes it more expensive than Employee Fiduciary or Ubiquity as plan assets cross several hundred thousand dollars.