U S Government Accountability Office

Retirement security U S Government Accountability Office

" About 42 million workers, or about one-third of all private-sector employees, work for employers with fewer than 100 employees, and recent federal data suggest many of these workers lack access to work-based retirement benefits. Despite efforts by the federal government to develop new plan designs and to increase tax incentives, plan sponsorship remains low among small employers. MEPs, a type of arrangement involving more than one employer, have been suggested as a potential way to increase coverage. This testimony describes (1) the challenges small employers face in helping ensure that their workers secure retirement income, and (2) types of MEPs and their potential to address these challenges. GAO drew from its previous reports related to small employer challenges in establishing and maintaining a retirement plan and recent work on MEPs issued from March 2012 through September 2012. "