Although employees, depending on their age, might not be pondering their retirement quite yet, their employers should be thinking about it for them.
To help ensure their employees are prepared for the golden years, many businesses provide them with retirement plan options, which allow workers to start saving money for retirement now. To offer these plans, which provide employers with the ability to match employee contributions to help encourage them to start saving, businesses work with a retirement-plan provider. These providers work with businesses to determine the plan that best fits their needs, and then sets it up and administers it for them. They handle all of the money and investing. Many also offer retirement planning advice, resources and tools to help employees better understand the need to start saving now.
If you are searching for an employee retirement plan for your business, here are 15 options to consider.
ADP
ADP offers a wide range of retirement plans for businesses of all sizes, including traditional 401(k)s, SIMPLE IRAs,safe harbor 401(k)s, profit sharing and New Comparability Plans. ADP also gives employees who already have retirement plans the option to transfer their old plans into their new one. Since ADP doesn't sell mutual funds or insurance, there are no secrets about where the retirement-plan money is invested. This solution gives employers the ability to set up different vesting schedules and determine if they want some type of matching program. ADP also offers a mobile app that gives employees the opportunity to check their retirement accounts from their mobile devices. Additionally, this retirement plan integrates with ADP's payroll services. adp.com
Editor’s Note: Considering an employee retirement plan for your business? If you’re looking for information to help you choose the one that’s right for you, use the questionnaire below to get information from a variety of vendors for free:
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments provides retirement plans to both small and large businesses. The company's retirement-plan options include IRAs, 401(k)s, profit sharing and safe harbor plans. Fidelity Investments provides businesses with consultants who will help them select a plan that best fits their needs. Once the plan is established, employees can review their account from any Web browser. With this solution, Fidelity says employees can easily transfer old retirement accounts into their new one. Fidelity's retirement plans integrate with payroll services, which helps streamline the process. Fidelity also has a mobile app that allows employees to keep tabs on their retirement account from their mobile devices, regardless of where they are. fidelity.com
Paychex
Paychex offers flexible 401(k) plan design, record keeping and plan management services. Paychex's plans include traditional 401(k)s, safe harbor 401(k) s, owner-only 401(k)s, profit sharing and Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employers (SIMPLE). Options include auto-enrollment, catch-up contributions, employer matching, vesting and participant loans. With Paychex, employers can work with an adviser to determine which investment option — open funds, guided funds or fixed funds — works best for them. Once the plan is established, accounts can be monitored via employee-dedicated websites, employer websites and adviser websites. A Paychex mobile app is also available. paychex.com
ShareBuilder 401k
ShareBuilder 401k provides retirement plans specifically designed for small businesses. This provider offers four different 401(k) options, including individual 401(k)s, simplified 401(k)s, customized 401(k)s and tiered profit sharing 401(k)s. Each of the plans has different matching, vesting and profit-sharing options. Once plans are established, employees can transfer existing retirement accounts into their new account, which can be reviewed and monitored online. ShareBuilder retirement plans also integrate with most payroll providers. sharebuilder401k.com
Vanguard
Vanguard offers employee retirement plans that are specifically designed for small businesses. Retirement-plan options include small plan 401(k)s, individual 401(k)s, SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs. Vanguard has a diversified fund lineup — all-in-one funds, Vanguard select funds and mutual funds — with no minimum initial investment. Vanguard's website provides a place for employers to find all of their key retirement information in one place, enroll new participants, monitor the status of pending contributions, access up to two years of contribution details, create ongoing allocation instructions and update bank-account information. Employees can view their account information online or via the company's mobile app. vanguard.com
ING
ING offers retirement solutions for all sizes and segments of the organizations they serve, including corporate, education, government, health care and not-for-profit entities. Specific plan options include 401(k)s, safe harbor, profit sharing and IRAs. To help employees set up their accounts, ING provides tools and resources to help them better understand not only the different plans, but the entire retirement planning process. After plans are established, employees can monitor their accounts both online and through a mobile app. Employees can even enroll in the plan via their mobile device. ing.us
Employee Fiduciary
Employee Fiduciary provides low-cost retirement 401(k) plans to small and midsize companies nationwide. Employee Fiduciary does not require a minimum number of participating employees. When plans are established, employees can transfer funds from existing retirement accounts into the current one. This solution allows both employees and plan administrators to access their accounts via the company's website. Employee Fiduciary offers mutual funds that are NSCC-tradable, including all Vanguard Funds. Overall, there are nearly 30,000 share classes from 377 fund families from which to choose. employeefiduciary.com
ePlan Services
ePlan Services provides solutions for the design, provision and management of employer-sponsored retirement plans. ePlan offers traditional 401(k)s, Roth 401(k)s, safe harbor and profit-sharing options. ePlan provides record-keeping tools and takes care of annual plan reviews and compliance testing. After plans are established, employees can review their accounts online. Through their online accounts, employees can manage both deferral and investment elections. They also offer retirement planning tools and calculators. eplanservices.com
AXA Equitable
AXA Equitable has employer-sponsored retirement plans for businesses of all sizes. Specific retirement plan options include 401(k)s, safe harbor, profit sharing, IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SEP-IRAs. This solution offers a broad array of investment choices, including a diverse lineup of funds across all major asset classes, target-date and risk-based asset allocation portfolios, and a choice of Guaranteed Interest Options (GIO) or Stable Value Funds. AXA Equitable makes it easy for employees to transfer existing retirement funds into their new account. Once employees are signed up in the plan, they can monitor their accounts online. They also have access to the service's NowPlan education program, which is designed to walk employees through the retirement planning process. axa.com
Nationwide
Nationwide offers a variety of retirement-plan options for businesses, including 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs, individual retirement plans and profit sharing. Nationwide works with businesses to help choose the plan that best fits their needs and gives employees the opportunity to choose the funds they want to invest in. Once the plans have been established and employees have been enrolled, they can access their account details through an online account or via mobile devices. Nationwide also assists employers with compliance testing, record keeping and employee contributions. nationwide.com
Edward Jones
Edward Jones offers retirement plans for small, medium-sized and large business. Businesses with no employees have the option of SEP-IRAs and owner-only 401(k)s, while those with employees can choose from 401(k)s, SIMPLE IRAs and Safe Harbor 401(k)s. 403(b) and 457(b) plans are also available. With Edward Jones, employers can fund their retirement plans with an array of investments, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds and government securities. This solution provides education and administrative support to plan sponsors and all employees. Once plans are established, employees can review their accounts online. Mobile apps are also available. edwardjones.com
American Funds
American Funds offers employer-sponsored retirement plans for small businesses. Specific options include money purchase plans, profit sharing plans, 401(k)s, Simplified Employee Pension Plans, SIMPLE IRAs, 403(b) plans and payroll deduction IRAs. After employers set up their plans, employees will have access to their retirement accounts online. americanfunds.com
The Hartford
The Hartford offers employer-sponsored retirement plans specifically for small businesses. Retirement plan options for small businesses include individual 401(k)s, SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs. Once plans have been set up, both administrators and employees can access account information online. Plan sponsors can visit The Hartford's website for access to all of their plan management needs, including transactional capabilities and downloadable reports, while employees can visit the website to manage their account online and use a variety of retirement tools and resources. hartfordinvestor.com
Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank provides employer-sponsored retirement plans to businesses of all sizes. For businesses with fewer than 100 employees, Citizens Bank offers SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAS, and for those with more than 100 employees, the company offers 401(k)s, 403(b)s and nonqualified plans. When businesses are considering the different options, Citizens Bank consultants will meet with them to determine which choice best fits both their and their employees' needs. citizensbank.com
Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual provides businesses of all sizes with employer-sponsored retirement plans. Plan options include 401(k)s, 403(b)s, profit sharing, SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs. Northwestern Mutual also offers executive benefits or nonqualified benefit plans for certain employee types. The two types of nonqualified plans available are Elective Deferred Compensation (EDC) plans and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs). northwesternmutual.com
Editor’s Note: Considering an employee retirement plan for your business? If you’re looking for information to help you choose the one that’s right for you, use the questionnaire below to get information from a variety of vendors for free:
Originally published on Business News Daily.
