Expanding Retirement Options for Washington's Small Businesses

Our state’s small businesses and private sector workers are facing a retirement savings crisis. <br><br>Here in the Evergreen State, small businesses provide more than 40% of private sector jobs, but fewer than half of all residents have a retirement plan at work. Unfortunately, many small business owners want to offer retirement plans to attract and retain talented employees, but can’t due to a variety of barriers, including cost, business size, and administrative burdens. <b>Now, there’s a solution:</b> a small business retirement marketplace run by the Washington Department of Commerce.<br><br>The <b>Washington Small Business Retirement Marketplace</b>, launching in January 2017, will make it easier for entrepreneurs and their employees to save for retirement by offering a voluntary retirement savings program for small businesses with less than 100 employees, including sole proprietors and self-employed individuals. The program will offer an array of options, including low-cost, low-burden retirement savings plans. These plans will be portable, so individuals can keep them even if they change jobs.<br><br>