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Small employers less likely to offer retirement plans, study finds
About 49% of firms with fewer than 50 employees offer retirement plans, compared with more than 90% of larger employers.
Small businesses are driving a major retirement-plan coverage gap in the U.S., with HousingWire citing research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College showing that only 49% of firms with fewer than 50 employees offer employer-sponsored retirement plans.
The study contrasts that with larger employers, where more than 90% provide retirement plans. It also notes that small businesses account for the vast majority of U.S. firms and employ roughly one-third of private-sector workers, leaving many households more reliant on Social Security or facing gaps in coverage during their working lives.
Researchers say small employers often point to concerns about firm size and financial stability, perceived plan costs and administrative complexity, and employee preferences for wages over benefits. They add that those fears may be based on misperceptions, including that some 401(k) providers offer options with annual employer costs below $2,000 for a five-employee firm and below $3,000 for a 25-employee firm.
The Boston College brief also highlights that many small employers are unaware they can claim a tax credit of up to $5,000 per year for three years to offset start-up costs, and that about 80% of employers say such a credit would make offering a plan more attractive.
It further finds that retirement-plan adoption is more common among more mature, financially stable businesses, with 87% of firms that offer a plan doing so by their 10th year of operation, compared with about half in their first five years.