If you’re an entrepreneur like me, you probably love growing your own business and building your dream. There are few things more satisfying than building something from scratch and watching it succeed.
But the reality of small business ownership can come crashing down and foil your plans. Too often the nitty gritty details can sideline small businesses before they even leave the ground. It’s those administrative tasks that can fall by the wayside and limit how successful your business can be. One example: 401ks.
You need to hire the best talent if you want to be a successful business owner and the best hires expect to be compensated fairly, especially with benefits. While you may be able to afford your new recruits, getting them a prime benefits package can be another story.
Nowadays, people expect their jobs to offer a 401k. according to this survey, people compare job offers based on the strength of their retirement plan.
That’s where small business owners can struggle – setting up a 401k plan requires a level of compliance and regulations that can exceed what many businesses can handle, especially if they don’t have a dedicated HR department.
Currently 50% of Americans work for a small or medium business and only one in six of these offers a 401k plan. You can stand out to potential employees by providing one of these. You can even do so without racking your head over IRS rules by using third party services such as ForUsAll.
Whether you’re in charge of a small business or work at one, you can use ForUsAll as a conduit to start offering retirement plans in your benefits packages. Imagine that you’re interviewing a great prospect who has the option between working for your company and a competitor, one who doesn’t offer a 401k. It’s no guarantee but you can imagine which firm will win out.
You also don’t have to think about what kinds of plans you’re offering to employees. ForUsAll gives its customers access to low-fee funds with fiduciary level service. You’re not providing a hedge fund scam to your workers, you’re giving them quality funds that can help them start or continue their retirement planning journey.
ForUsAll also builds in payroll integration so your employees can automatically deduct their 401k contributions from their paycheck – either a set amount or percentage.
Here are some other ways to encourage employee involvement:
- Get them to start small. If you can’t afford to build in a full matching program, you can match start by putting in $50 every month if they contribute $50 or more. $100 a month for a full year equals more than $1000 – not bad for most millennials.
- Explain the power of compound interest. Many people put off saving for retirement because they don’t feel the need to start saving now. They think they can delay the decision until they’re older or earning more money. Use calculators like these to show how even small contributions can add up really quickly and leave you with a solid nest egg when you’re ready to retire.
- Use 401k contributions instead of annual increases. If you really care about your workers saving for retirement, you can institute annual 401k contributions instead of or in addition to salary increases. For example, instead of giving them an annual bonus, you can contribute that money to their 401k. Caring about offering employees a 401k program isn’t just about getting the best person for the job, it’s about being the best boss to the people you hire. As an employer, you have an incredible ability to shape your employee’s lives. The more seriously you take that role, the happier and more productive they’ll be.