The small business part of the 401(k) business is a bit tough, a recent survey shows that.
A survey from Capital Group found that main reasons for small businesses not creating retirement plans were costs, complexity, and concerns about the size and stability of their business.
305 employers were part of the survey, 105 offered a retirement plan and 200 did not. About 75% of the businesses in the survey that lacked a plan said they were interested in creating one, but only 13% said it would happen in the next six months.
The reasons employers gave for not offering a plan were about complexity and expense. Thirty-nine percent said their business was not large or stable enough, 35% cited limited administrative resources, 32% said they didn’t know where to start, and 32% said plan creation is too expensive for them. For smaller companies, I think Pooled Employer Plans and educating sponsors about them, can go a long way in breaking down the barriers.