Plan Sponsor

Despite the fact that women tend to live longer, female workers typically have lower retirement account balances than their male counterparts. Many factors may contribute to this disparity, including lower earnings, greater part-time work and time off for child and eldercare, lower levels of financial literacy and lower risk/lower return investment choices.

It may be advantageous for a plan sponsor to consider adopting a traditional safe harbor design for their retirement plan. Adopting a safe harbor retirement plan design permits an employer to essentially avoid discrimination testing (the testing is deemed met).

Many plan providers struggle with deciding how many investment options to offer in their retirement plans. While people generally like to have lots of options when making other decisions, having too many plan options can potentially lead to poor investment decisions by plan participants. In addition, increasing plan options can also increase plan costs, as well as the administration associated with the plan.

Employees worried about their personal finances are less productive, more distracted and are easier targets for poachers. While none of that is a revelation, a recent nationwide survey showed just how pervasive financial insecurity is in the workforce and how large the losses and potential risks are for employers at every level.

As the unemployment rate has dropped, hiring has grown increasingly competitive - especially for businesses with highly-specialized positions. It’s important to understand how retirement matches factor into the hiring process and how they can financially benefit your company. Here are a few reasons why offering a retirement match helps your business.