In addition to taking care of employees during their tenure with a company, employers also know the value of making sure their staff is looked after post-retirement as well. Many employees, especially the younger ones, may not immediately see the benefit of retirement planning, but as an employer, a retirement savings plan is an attractive and robust offering that can draw top talent to your firm.

The question faced by employers is what should they look for when shopping for retirement benefits. The options are numerous, and can prove to be overwhelming for those who lack an extensive background in benefits administration. Fortunately, HR services can be a valuable resource for small businesses who find themselves struggling to understand the challenges involved in exploring retirement benefits options.

Understanding the challenges
Despite the importance of retirement saving, it’s one of the least popular processes among employees, especially among younger generations. As Business News Daily reported, fewer than 50 percent of employees below age 29 have retirement savings, and the ones who do contribute less than 5 percent of their earnings annually, on average.

Some larger companies use plans that autoenroll employees once they become eligible, and while this contributes to a greater number of staff members who participate in retirement savings, it doesn’t do much to increase active engagement and encouraging employees to take a leadership role in their retirement savings.

Getting your employees on board
Knowing the challenges associated with communicating the importance of retirement savings to the current generation of workers, employers can plan their retirement benefits shopping with an eye to services that can help overcome some of the larger obstacles to active saving.

An attractive option can be found in professional employment organizations. HR outsourcing companies come equipped with the right tool​ set to relieve the burden of administration from the employer, but, more importantly, also provide valuable services to employees to encourage and foster an attitude of active retirement savings.

As with many other areas, appealing to younger generations for purposes of retirement savings entails providing them with flexibility. PEO services can speak to both of these needs. By administering retirement benefits in-house, HR outsourcing companies can clear up management bandwidth that would need to be spent navigating retirement minutiae while providing employees with a simple, flexible means to educate themselves further about the process of saving. Online portals can offer easily accessible channels for all steps of the process from enrollment to management.