According to a Wall Street Journal article, approximately one-half of the work force in the United States does not have access to a company-sponsored retirement savings program, due in part to the fact that many small businesses either can’t afford or do not wish to deal with maintaining a 401(k) plan for their employees.

The article goes on to cite several initiatives that could help lessen the burden for employers and make it easier for employees to save for retirement. One such initiative is already in place and that is the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which made it easier for employers to automatically enroll employees into their 401(k) plans. The Government Accountability Office reported that participation in one large company’s retirement plan rose from 57% to 86% under this feature.

Another proposal would require small employers who don’t sponsor a retirement savings plan to automatically enroll their workers in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), unless they opt out. The money would be taken out, pre-tax, from the employee’s paycheck, with a limit of $5,000.

NADART is committed to helping the needs of both small and large businesses with our  low-cost retirement plans. Our plans help ease the administrative burdens of sponsoring a retirement plan with such features as automatic enrollment and online payroll submission. If you would like to learn more about our retirement plans, please contact a NADART representative at (800) 462-3278, ext. 7161 or e-mail nadart401k@nada.org.