For Employers

For Employers Already Offering a Retirement Plan

Already offering a retirement plan? You probably still have questions about your responsibilities and options. You may also need assistance in communicating accurate and timely information about the plan to employees.

Employees often go to their employers when they are looking for information about retirement savings. Take advantage of our consumer publications that explain the importance of saving for retirement and how to get started.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor provides information for employers and other professionals about compliance assistance for retirement plans. Here are just a few of our publications:

• Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities – This publication provides an overview of the basic fiduciary responsibilities applicable to retirement plans under the law.
• ERISA Fiduciary Advisor – This tool provides information and answers to a variety of questions about who is a fiduciary and their responsibilities under ERISA.
• Reporting & Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans - A quick reference tool for certain basic reporting and disclosure requirements under ERISA.
• 401(k) Plan Fee Disclosure Tool - A form that provides employers with a handy way to make cost-effective decisions and compare the investment fees and administrative costs of competing providers of plan services.
• ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST) - Information about the computerized system that streamlines filing and processing of Form 5500.

For Employers Not Offering a Retirement Plan

After health insurance, retirement plans are the most popular benefit that businesses offer their employees. In addition to providing a valuable service to employees, sponsoring a retirement plan can be advantageous for employers - even small business owners. These advantages include:

• A retirement savings program can help you to attract and retain high-quality employees who give you a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
• Employer and employee contributions are tax-deductible and the employees’ taxes are deferred until the funds are distributed.
• Small employers can claim tax credits for the cost of setting up certain plans.
• Establishing a retirement plan can help employers fund their own retirement.
• Some plans, such as the SIMPLE and the SEP, cost less and have fewer administrative hassles than employers may realize.

Information About Types Of Plans You May Want To Consider

Small Business Retirement Savings Advisor - This interactive tool offers retirement plan options based on your responses to questions such as the number of employees and whether or not you will match employee contributions. The tool contains a thorough description of each type of plan, a comparison chart, and reporting information for each type of plan, and provides copies of the forms for establishing certain plans.

Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business Chart: 8.5" x 11" | 8.5" x 14"

Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business - This publication describes the retirement savings options available to small businesses. In addition, there are publications on the following types of options:

• Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans For Small Businesses
• 401(k) Plans For Small Businesses
• SEP Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
• SIMPLE IRA Plans for Small Businesses
• Payroll Deduction IRAs For Small Businesses
• Profit Sharing Plans for Small Businesses

For Small Business Employers

Small businesses employ nearly half of the private-sector workforce in the United States. In fact, many of today's workers get their first job and basic skills working for a small employer.

Starting a small business retirement savings plan can be easier than many people think. What’s more, there are a number of retirement programs that provide tax advantages to both employers and employees. In addition, a retirement plan can help attract and retain talented workers, and employees and owners alike can benefit from significant tax savings.

For more information on types of plans and what might work best for you, see Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business. In addition, there are publications that describe different plan options, including: Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans For Small Businesses, 401(k) Plans For Small Businesses, SEP Retirement Plans for Small Businesses, SIMPLE IRA Plans for Small Businesses, and Payroll Deduction IRAs For Small Businesses.

The Small Business Retirement Savings Advisor is an interactive tool that provides answers to a variety of questions about retirement savings options for small business employers and determines which program is most appropriate for a business.

The Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business video helps small employers and accountants understand the various options for providing a retirement program through four real-life experiences.

What To Do If You Are Self-Employed

Many people work for themselves, either full-time or in addition to their regular job. If you are self-employed, you have several tax-deferred retirement plan options to choose from.

SEPs (Simplified Employee Pensions) and SIMPLE IRAs can be easily set up through a bank, mutual fund, or other financial institution. See the Department of Labor’s booklets about these easy, low-cost retirement plan option to decide if one might be right for you.

These options and more are covered in the following Department of Labor publications and resources:

• Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business - A joint DOL/IRS publication describing the retirement savings options available to small businesses.
• Small Business Retirement Savings Advisor - An interactive tool that offers retirement plan options based on your responses to questions.

Fiduciary Education Campaign

Plan sponsors and other fiduciaries have a responsibility to protect the interests of the workers and retirees in their benefit plans. The Department's program - "Getting It Right - Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities" - will provide employers and plan officials with an understanding of the law and their responsibilities and will focus on steps for avoiding the most common problems EBSA encounters in its enforcement activities. The program will emphasize the obligation of plan sponsors and other fiduciaries to:

• Understand the terms of their plans;
• Select and monitor service providers carefully;
• Make timely contributions to fund benefits;
• Avoid prohibited transactions; and
• Make timely disclosures to workers and their beneficiaries and reports to the government.

The Fiduciary Education Campaign includes nationwide educational seminars and webcasts to help plan sponsors understand the rules and meet their responsibilities to workers and retirees, thereby improving their financial security. The campaign also includes educational materials on topics such as understanding fees and selecting an auditor. EBSA is sponsoring the campaign in partnership with the Society of Human Resource Management and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.