Dont let Congress hamper retirement plans for small businesses
I’m at a loss as to why some Republicans on Capitol Hill want to block the creation of workplace retirement plans for small-business employees.
We know that Social Security will face some serious but solvable long-term funding issues that many politicians will very likely neglect to address.
And with fewer companies offering pensions these days, we know that workers have to save for their own retirement. The percentage of employers still offering a traditional defined benefit plan to new hires has fallen significantly, according to advisory services firm Willis Towers Watson. In 2015, only 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered a traditional pension plan to new employees, down from 59 percent in 1998.
And increasingly, companies that still offer a pension have stopped or frozen the accrual of benefits for plan participants.
We also know that when a company offers a defined-contribution plan such as a 401(k), employees are more likely to save for retirement. Only 5 percent of people who don’t have access to a workplace retirement plan will go out on their own and open an IRA, according to Sarah Gill, an AARP senior legislative representative.
http://www.heraldnet.com/business/dont-let-congress-hamper-retirement-plans-for-small-businesses/
