Small Biz Owners Lack 401(k)-nowledge

August 14, 2001(PLANSPONSOR.com) ? Results of a recent survey show small business owners reporting much lower levels of knowledge about 401(k) plans than larger firms.

While nearly three-fourths (71%) of total respondents in the 2001 Nationwide Financial High Income Survey reported they were very knowledgeable about 401(k) plans, less than half (49%) of small business owners could say the same.

And this dearth of knowledge is closely correlated with the number of smaller firms who actually offer retirement plans. In its 1996 Employee Benefits Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that only 46% of full-time workers in small businesses were covered by a retirement plan in 1996.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute is of the opinion that those responsible for employee benefits at businesses with fewer than 100 employees have many misconceptions about how inexpensive it is to set up a retirement plan and how flexible these plans can be.

The survey was conducted by polling firm Greenwald & Associates and comprised the responses of 500 people younger than age 60 with annual incomes greater than $150,000 per year.

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