A SIMPLE IRA plan (Savings Incentive Match PLan for Employees) allows employees and employers to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for employees. It is ideally suited as a start-up retirement savings plan for small employers not currently sponsoring a retirement plan. To have a SIMPLE IRA, it would have to have been part of an employer retirement plan. If you have an IRA that was originally part of a retirement plan from a small employer, it could be a SIMPLE IRA; otherwise it is not. Your account statement should indicate if it was a SIMPLE.