Pros and Cons of Retirement Savings Plans for Small Businesses

The Cons of Retirement Plans for Small Businessesgetting simpler.
Depending on the size of your business, the biggestContinue here to learn more about which Retirement
drawback for offering a retirement plan is that thesePlan is best for you and your business.
plans can be costly, time consuming and complicated.Can Help You Attract and Retain Employees:
As a small business owner you need to balance theEmployees are more and more aware of the benefits
needs of your business against so many competingof retirement planning. And many of the brightest
priorities. There are many ways to use your time andworkers know to look for retirement benefits as an
resources.important part of their overall compensation package.
However, there are many high quality alternatives toA company Retirement Plan can help you hire and
plans with high costs and complexities –– perhaps more importantly -- retain the best
especially if you have fewer than 100 employees.employees.
And, if you are a sole proprietor or self employed,A study published in National Small Business Week
there are very affordable retirement plans for you.reported that the overwhelming majority – 80
The Pros of Retirement Planning for Small Businessespercent -- of small businesses who offer Retirement
The advantages of retirement planning for a smallPlans believe that they help with employee retention.
business owner are both long and short term:And, 76 percent of respondents feel that a
Secure Your Retirement: Achieving retirementRetirement Plan helps attract new employees.
security is the most important long term goal ofBack Up Savings Plan: In addition to enabling you and
retirement savings.your employees to save for retirement, money in
Many small business owners believe that the sale ofyour retirement account can act as a back up
or other exit strategy for their business will besavings plan. In general, retirement savings plans can
enough to fund retirement. In fact, only about 16be borrowed against – up to half the value.
percent of businesses with less than 50 employeesYou pay the money and interest back to yourself
have 401k plans. (What percentage of businessesover time.
ultimately get sold?)This is a good resource to have in an emergency
However, it is probably not wise to bank on an exit– you can save for your retirement as well as
strategy to fund retirement. After all, most businessfor the proverbial “rainy day.”
owners know that every wise owner has a Plan B.Get Liquidity: Some company retirement plans -- like
Saving for your retirement should be an importantan employee stock purchase plan – enable the
priority and an essential part of your overall financialcompany to raise funds for the business or the
goals.owner since the employees are buying the stock
Save Money on Taxes: Most people think offrom the business.
retirement planning as a long term wealthDo You Have a Retirement Plan? Is it Adequate for
management solution. However, there are yearlyYou, Your Family, Your Business and Your
benefits to investing in a retirement planning solution.Employees?
The biggest short term benefit is tax savings.While many people think that they have adequate
Qualified retirement contributions are tax deductible.resources for retirement, few actually do. A recent
And both the biggest and smallest small businessesstudy found that 45 percent of all U.S. households
can reap the benefits.have less than $25,000 in savings excluding their
- A sole proprietor with modest yearly income mighthome), yet two-thirds of all workers expect to live
drop into a lower tax bracket with a Retirement Planas comfortably in retirement as they did when they
contribution.worked. The reality is that the average person would
- While a large firm with sizable revenue –use up that $25,000 in just a few years –
could reap significant tax savings with the righteven with their Social Security benefits.
benefits plan.Longer life spans, increasing medical costs,
Many Different Options are Available: Whether youfluctuations in financial markets and other pressures
work for yourself and make a modest income orare making significant retirement savings ever more
have lots of employees and a large budget, there isimportant. And, Small Business Owners are in a unique
probably a retirement planning product available to fitposition to create a tax efficient plan tailored to their
your exact needs and goals.needs and goals.
And the really good news is that the wide variety ofConnect with a Small Business Retirement Planning
plans and the competition between firms to earnExpert
your business mean that:Continue here to speak with a Small Business
- The types of investments available are widerRetirement Planning Professional who can help you
- The costs of these plans are getting cheaperfind the right plan for you and your business.
- The complications of running the programs are