14th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Employers

Small businesses are the cornerstone of the U.S. economy, but they have historically lagged behind large companies in offering retirement benefits to their employees. What percentage of small businesses offer a 401(k) or similar plan? What can be done to increase plan coverage among small business workers?

Further, among small businesses offering a plan to their employees, the plan's features tend to lag behind those of large employers. To what degree? And what can be done? Given these differences in benefit offerings, how does the retirement outlook between workers of small businesses compare with those of large companies?

The Retirement Readiness Imperative: Overcoming the Challenges Faced by Small Companies is a research report that answers these questions and more. It is based on findings from 2013 surveys of 750 employers, more than 3,600 employed workers, and more than 600 individuals who were unemployed or underemployed.

The 14th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey: The Employer's Perspectiveoffers a 5-year trend analysis of employers and their benefit offerings with segmentation analysis by large and small companies.

The research reports were released on October 2, 2013 coincident with Catherine Collinson's testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business, “The Challenge of Retirement Savings for Small Employers."