Workers Shirking Retirement Savings

 

April 30, 2007 -- Employees at smaller businesses are less likely than those at larger corporations to be saving for retirement, according to a new survey by Transamerica.

Of more than 1,400 full-time workers surveyed nationwide, just 18 percent of employees at small businesses reported saving at least $100,000 in household retirement accounts, compared to 29 percent of employees at larger firms.

Fewer small-business employees said they believed their employer-sponsored plans to be a primary source of income after retirement, while many were expecting to rely on Social Security.

"Not enough is being done to help small-business employees prepare for a comfortable and secure retirement," Catherine Collinson, a market-trends expert at the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, said in a statement. "Lower savings rates ultimately lead to a reliance on the future of Social Security, which underscores the need for a wake-up call among employers and employees alike."

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