Critical period approaches for small business retirement plans

It is vital for Americans to save for retirement, and it should start at a young age, especially given the fragile state of the economy. Unfortunately, some Americans are destined to find themselves in unfortunate financial paths based on their current saving habits, iStockAnalyst reports. Anne Arvia, senior vice president of retirement plans for Nationwide Financial, said in a statement that her agency's survey shows 46 percent of small business owners were uninformed about the specifics regarding employee-supported retirement benefits, specifically the fact that it's not required that the employer matches employee contributions. "The provisions in the Small Businesses Add Value for Employees (SAVE) Act before Congress will remove many of the barriers that have kept small businesses from offering their employees a retirement plan," Arvia said. If an employee is ill-prepared for retirement, a substantial amount of debt may pile up and it may become unmanageable. According to the study, 75 percent small business owners surveyed explained that because of the abundance of Americans unprepared for retirement, major changes need to be made across the small business industry before it gets worse. "There's a retirement crisis looming and we need to work together to improve access to retirement plans for all Americans," Arvia added.