Effort seeks to assist small business workers

The U.S. Department of Labor announced a rule that it said is to help strengthen retirement security for millions of small business employees across America.

The rule makes it easier for small businesses to offer retirement savings plans to their workers through Association Retirement Plans (ARPs), which would allow small businesses to band together to offer retirement plans to their employees.

“Many small businesses would like to offer retirement benefits to their employees, but are discouraged by the cost and complexity of running their own plans,” acting Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella said in a statement. “Association Retirement Plans offer valuable retirement security to small businesses’ employees through their retirement years.”

Approximately 38 million private-sector employees in the United States do not have access to a retirement savings plan through their employers, the department said.

Under the rule, ARPs could be offered by associations of employers in a city, county, state, or a multi-state metropolitan area, or in a particular industry nationwide. .

For more, go to www.dol.gov