Small Employer Pension Survey: Cost Not Only Concern

The owners who listed legal problems as a top concern told Greenwald researchers they were worried about the possibility of facing lawsuits, and the difficulty of selecting and monitoring plan investments.

Greenwald says the employers surveyed may be frightened about the perils of investment management and the difficulty of managing retirement plans partly because their advisors focus on selling relatively complicated, mutual fund-based 401(k) plans.

Survey participants reported hearing little about money purchase plans, defined benefit pension plans, or other alternatives to fund-based 401(k) plans, Greenwald says.