Administration April 14, 2011

Business Owners Worried about Saving for Retirement

April 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The latest American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor finds retirement savings is a worrisome topic for business owners.
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More than eight-in-ten (81%) are worried about their ability to save for retirement, up from 74% last spring. Of these, one-third (34%) are very worried about their ability to save for retirement – unchanged from last spring.   

A press release said the economic downturn has had an effect on the amount of money business owners estimate for retirement. One-in-four entrepreneurs estimate they will need less than $750,000 (26%), between $750,000 and one million dollars (26%) or between one and two million dollars (25%) to retire.   

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The average amount estimated by entrepreneurs is $1,205,000 to retire, slightly less than the $1,286,000 they estimated in spring 2007.   

The survey also found that for the first time since 2006, growth has surpassed survival as the number one priority for entrepreneurs, and more than one-third (35%) plan to hire, the highest level since the fall 2008 survey.   

Among those with hiring plans, one-third plan to hire one (35%) or two employees (33%), less than one-in-ten (8%) plan to hire three, and one-in-five (20%) plan to hire four or more over the next six months. When asked which person would most help their business, more than one-in-ten (14%) said they would hire an accountant/bookkeeper, nearly one-in-ten (9%) said a social media expert, and 6% said either a marketing /advertising person or a sales representative.
Compliance April 14, 2011

ERIC Suggests Ways DoL Can Reduce Regulatory Burden

April 14, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) has submitted comments to the Department of Labor (DoL) in response to a Request for Information (RFI) on ways the Department could reduce the burden associated with its regulations.
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In its letter, ERIC said: “As federal regulations become more complex and pervasive, ERIC’s members spend a larger and larger portion of their available time, effort, and financial resources complying with federal requirements.  ERIC’s members believe that these resources often would be better spent preserving and enhancing workers’ benefits.”  

ERIC also contended that much could be gained if large employers, and others key stakeholders, were engaged on an ongoing basis in the Department’s regulatory review process, and recommended that a group representing key stakeholders be constituted to meet on a regular basis to review regulations that have been published during the previous period.  

Specifically, ERIC suggested the DoL: 

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  • Permit electronic disclosure without affirmative consent, saying that it is not practical for large employers to obtain, store, and administer electronic consents from tens of thousands of workers, retirees, alternate payees, COBRA beneficiaries, and other individuals, and that DoL’s restrictions make electronic disclosure effectively unavailable to large employers; 
  • Clarify that most employee assistance programs are not group health plans, noting that the Department has never provided formal guidance concerning the status of these programs, but has issued advisory opinions indicating that the programs will be treated as group health plans if they offer limited counseling benefits; 
  • Resolve the conflict between the fee disclosure requirement for participant-directed plans and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s summary prospectus requirement, noting that it is confusing for plan participants and burdensome for plan administrators to disclose operating expenses in two different ways for the same funds; 
  • Increase Form 5500 reporting thresholds for non-monetary compensation (Instructions for Form 5500 Schedule C), saying that the burden of collecting and reporting information for business meals and other incidental forms of non-monetary compensation far exceeds any possible benefit associated with the reporting requirements; and 
  • Coordinate regulations affecting workplace wellness programs under Title I and II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), noting that employers are reluctant to invest additional time and money in developing wellness programs until the applicable law is clarified, and gives effect to the intent of Congress and the Administration to support workplace wellness programs.

     

ERIC’s letter is here. 

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