As more employers consider alternatives to traditional pensions for providing retirement benefits, new data reflects a growing need for defined contribution retirement plans among America’s small to mid-sized companies. Symetra Financial offers a variety of flexible and cost-effective retirement plans to help emerging businesses provide meaningful savings options to more workers.
A recent poll by Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive found that 60 percent of U.S. adults feel their employer is obligated to help with retirement needs. Yet less than half of small businesses typically offer a retirement plan to workers, according to an Employee Benefits Research Institute survey.
This in spite of the fact that, from 1987 to 2006, workers at small businesses have shown an increased probability of participating in an employer-sponsored plan when one is made available to them. Since most working Americans continue to look to their employers for help in building retirement savings, small to mid-sized businesses should focus on providing accessible retirement programs in order to effectively recruit and retain a high-quality workforce.
Symetra retirement plans are designed to bring Fortune 500-style retirement benefits to smaller employers without busting their budgets. They provide attractive investment choices coupled with low administrative costs.
The Symetra 401(k) platform, for example, features several nonproprietary, multimanager mutual fund choices from leading investment firms. Symetra plans also include auto enrollment and target date funds tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. In addition, Symetra offers a low-cost and transparent fee structure. Other benefits to plan sponsors include fiduciary backing from third party investment experts at Mesirow Financial, along with regular investment reviews and consultations with employers.
According to Dave Kulchar of Oswald Financial, Inc., who specializes in retirement plans and understands the importance of the small plan market, “For small businesses, the availability of a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan is a crucial part of hanging on to top-flight talent. What many employers don’t realize is that it is now quite simple and affordable to provide a robust retirement plan. As the Symetra plan design shows, you don’t have to be a large company to get a great retirement plan. Many small businesses can no longer afford to put off looking into worksite savings options if they want to remain competitive in today’s job market.”
Learn more about Symetra retirement plan programs and how the company works with small and midsized businesses to help workers improve retirement savings, visit www.symetra.com.
