Press release

In Tight Job Market, Retirement Benefits Seen as “Must-Have” to Recruit and Retain Talent; Yet 93 Percent of Small Businesses Are Unprepared to Make Benefit Decisions

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Exceptional employees help support a small-business owner’s success.
With low unemployment rates and fierce competition for workers, steady
work and compensation are not always enough to attract and retain the
best talent. New research released today from Lincoln Financial Group
(NYSE: LNC) reveals that more than half of small business owners see
retirement benefits as a “must-have” to retain employees and set them up
for long-term success; but as they consider adding new benefits, 93
percent feel unprepared to make decisions.1

Seven in ten small business employees are concerned about planning for
their retirement. 2 And a workplace savings plan is the most
effective way to get people to start to save for retirement.3
That means workers across America are looking to small business owners
to provide the benefits they need to secure their financial futures –
yet only 42 percent of small businesses offer retirement benefits.4

“The good news is that small business owners recognize the importance of
offering retirement benefits, but there are still some barriers
preventing them from taking action,” said Jamie Ohl, executive vice
president, president of Retirement Plan Services, Lincoln Financial
Group. “Offering a comprehensive plan doesn’t have to be complicated —
it only takes a conversation with a financial advisor and a few simple
decisions for a small business owner to set up a new plan or enhance the
one they offer today.”

The following tips can help small business owners feel more prepared as
they approach decisions about retirement benefits and help their
employee secure their financial futures.

Tip 1: Gain Advantage with Financial
Professionals

Many small business owners feel unqualified to choose the best-fit and
best-cost benefits and providers for their employees.5 And
they often lack the resources — both financial and personnel — that
larger competitors may have available to select and administer benefits.
Lincoln Financial’s study revealed that when they consider offering a
new benefit, 69 percent of small business owners are concerned about not
having the resources to administer additional benefits.

Meeting with a financial
professional
can be a simple yet impactful step in the benefits
decision-making process. A financial advisor can ask the right questions
and find the right answers to help small business owners identify the
best-fit solutions and partners in the marketplace. Small business
owners can lean on their financial professionals or plan providers for
their expertise on how benefits work, tax implications and plan design,
as well as tools to help evaluate their current benefits and assign
value to new benefits. Financial professionals or plan providers can
also assist small business owners with administrative capabilities and
robust employee education.

“Financial advisors and plan providers like Lincoln can help by serving
as a consultative partner to small business owners — helping them
understand solutions, make the right selections based on employees’
needs and helping them educate their employees,” said Ohl.

Tip 2: Education Drives Employee Engagement

Employee retention and preparing employees for the future are the two
most important reasons to employers when it comes to why they offer
retirement benefits.6 However, small business owners
identified that employee participation is among their biggest challenge
when it comes to managing their retirement benefits.

The key to employee engagement and participation is outcome-focused
education that encourages employees to understand the benefits of the
plan and take appropriate action. Seventy-nine percent of retirement
plan participants wish they had a better understanding of the elements
of saving for retirement in their workplace retirement plans.7
And only 42 percent of participants say they are saving as much as they
think they should.8 Lincoln Financial has several
calculators available
on its website that can help savers understand
the impact that a small change today can have a big impact tomorrow.

Another way that Lincoln Financial is making it easier for participants
to save is through YourPath®
— a series of customized target date portfolios managed along multiple
risk-based paths. This supports a more personalized investment approach
based on an individual’s financial circumstances and risk tolerance.
YourPath is available to employers of all sizes, making it easy for
small business owners to help their employees reach their retirement
goals.

For more information, please visit Lincoln’s Small
Business Retirement Plans page
.

For more information about National Small Business Week, visit http://www.sba.gov/nsbw.

Methodology for 2018 Small Business Owners’ Retirement and Benefits
Decision-Making Study

Results were collected by Collage
Group
on behalf of Lincoln Financial Group. Information for this
study was gathered through online interviews with a total of 675
respondents who are small business owners (defined as 5-100 employees).
Online interviews took place 8/15/2018 to 8/27/2018. Results were
weighted to be nationally representative of small business owners by
gender and ethnicity.

About Lincoln Financial Group

Lincoln Financial Group provides advice and solutions that help empower
people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and
optimism. Today, more than 17 million customers trust our retirement,
insurance and wealth protection expertise to help address their
lifestyle, savings and income goals, as well as to guard against
long-term care expenses. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Lincoln
Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation
(NYSE:LNC) and its affiliates. The company had $253 billion in assets
under management as of March 31, 2019. Lincoln Financial Group is a
committed corporate citizen included on major sustainability indices
including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America and
FTSE4Good. Additionally, Lincoln is dedicated to upholding a diverse and
inclusive organization and was recognized by Forbes as one of the Best
Large Employers, Best Employers for Diversity, and Best Employers for
Women and received a perfect score of 100 percent in on both the
Corporate Equality Index and Disability Equality Index. Learn more at: www.LincolnFinancial.com.
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1 2018 Lincoln Small Business Owners’ Retirement and Benefits
Decision-Making Study
2 2017 Lincoln Employee Benefits Study
3 2019 LIMRA Small Business and Retirement report
4 2019 LIMRA Small Business and Retirement report
5 2018 Lincoln Small Business Owners’ Retirement and Benefits
Decision-Making Study
6 2018 Lincoln Small Business Owners’ Retirement and Benefits
Decision-Making Study
7 2019 Lincoln Retirement Power® Participant Study
8 2019 Lincoln Retirement Power® Participant Study
 

LCN-2528842-050619