Small Businesses Want Social Security Control
October 15, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Fewer than 10%
of companies with 50 or fewer employees offer 401(k) plans,
according to a new survey.
A news release about the survey commissioned by ING
DIRECT's ShareBuilder 401k said the limited retirement
plan availability makes small business workers even more
reliant on Social Security benefits than their peers at
larger companies.
When it comes to Social Security, the poll found,
two-thirds of
small business owners
want the opportunity to manage their own accounts. Some
67% of small business owners want their
Social Security
dollars
automatically placed into a personal account while 33%
would rather have an account that's managed and
distributed by the government.
The news release said 77% of small business owners
believe that citizens should be responsible for their own
retirement versus 23% who see it as a government
function. Some 30% of respondents viewed Social Security
as a very important issue in the 2008 presidential
election with another 45% viewing it as somewhat
important, the news release said.
"It's clear small business owners have concerns
over Social Security and how much they'll have when they
reach
retirement age
," said
Stuart Robertson
, general manager of ING DIRECT's ShareBuilder 401k.
"Most people feel better when they can actually view and
manage the money contributed in their own account and
dictate how it's invested."
Data comes from the 2008 Small Business Annual
Retirement Trends (SBART) report. This survey was
conducted online within the United States by
Harris Interactive
from July 29 through August 25, 2008 among 512 small
business employers (including owners, partners CEOs,
chairmen and presidents with 1-50 employees).
Fred Schneyer
editors@plansponsor.com