I don't plan to fund my post-retirement trip around the world with my Social Security checks (if there's even still money left to distribute by then). Fortunately for me, I work at a small business that offers a great retirement-savings plan. But we're in the minority among small businesses. Companies with more than 100 employees have 65 percent participation in retirement plans, but for businesses with fewer than 25 employees, the rate is a meager 25 percent.
Washington Post business columnist Martha Hamilton is right on track with the reason behind the discrepancy: "Hundreds of thousands of small-business owners often work flat out just to keep the business operating," Hamilton writes. "They don't have accountants, lawyers, tax consultants or human resource offices to help sort out the complex rules, and their earnings are often unpredictable. That retirement planning takes a back seat is not surprising."
Hamilton outlines plans some groups in Washington think might be one way to help the nearly half of all private-sector employees who don't have or don't participate in retirement plans where they work.
