02/13/2008
CONTACT: Melissa Sharp, 202-314-2068
National Federation of Independent Business member Sherry Wuebben of St. Joseph Equipment in La Crosse, Wis., joined U.S. Rep. Ron Kind Tuesday in a discussion about Kind's newly introduced legislation, H.R. 5160, the Small Businesses Add Value for Employees (SAVE) Act of 2008. The bill is designed to increase opportunities for small businesses to participate in retirement savings programs for their employees.
"Small businesses know two things about establishing retirement plans for their workers. First, we understand how important retirement benefits are to attracting and retaining quality employees. Second, small businesses know how expensive and challenging it can be to set up and administer a retirement savings plan. We applaud Congressman Kind's legislation because it offers both incentives and simplicity--two features that are essential to helping small business owners and their employees access new tools for retirement savings,"said Sherry Wuebben.
"According to a 2006 NFIB Small Business Poll, only 27 percent of small businesses offer a retirement plan," said Dan Danner, executive vice president of NFIB. "By reducing complexity and allowing more flexibility for these plans, this legislation will make it much easier for small business owners to provide retirement plans for their employees."
H.R. 5160 would raise the annual contribution limit for these plans to the same level as 401(k) plans. The legislation would also allow an employer to make additional contributions to their employees' SIMPLE accounts, which is not allowed under current law. Small business owners would have the flexibility to share profits during a good year through additional contributions or simply to make them as an ongoing benefit.
