Small businesses considering eliminating 401(k) match

While the majority of small businesses do not think the economy will affect their ability to offer a 401(k) retirement plan, 44% said they may have to reduce or stop matching employee contributions, according to a survey released today by Nationwide Financial Services Inc. of Columbus, Ohio.
JUN 08, 2009
By  Sue Asci
While the majority of small businesses do not think the economy will affect their ability to offer a 401(k) retirement plan, 44% said they may have to reduce or stop matching employee contributions, according to a survey released today by Nationwide Financial Services Inc. of Columbus, Ohio. A small company was defined as having 5 to 250 employees. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to have offered a 401(k) retirement plan for at least one year and have between $500,000 and $10 million in retirement plan assets. Some 31% of respondents ranked providing employees with investment education as their top concern; 29% selected fiduciary and legal responsibilities as the top concern, and 21% chose the selection and monitoring of retirement plan investment options. A full 74% said that they valued an investment adviser’s ability to help them meet the legal responsibilities associated with offering a retirement plan. The survey of 401 respondents was conducted by telephone interviews between December and March.

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