The Small Business Administration is promoting a new retirement savings account which will allow owners of small businesses to provide a simple, safe and affordable way to help employees start saving.

The program – “myRA” (“My Retirement Account”) - will be initially available only through employers and the investment held in the account will be backed by the U.S. Treasury.

The account is intended for employees who do not have access to an employer-sponsored plan or who are not eligible for their employer’s plan. The myRA program allows employees to open an account for as little as $25 and contribute $5 or more every payday. myRA balances will never go down and there will be no fees.

The process for businesses to make myRA available to their employees is straightforward. Treasury will handle account set-up and maintenance and will provide informational materials for business owners to share with employees. There is no employer match or contribution of funds.

What’s required?
All that employers have to do is to make Treasury-provided program materials available to their employees and to set up ongoing payroll direct deposits into myRA for their interested employees. myRA is not intended to replace current employer-sponsored retirement plan offerings, but to provide a savings vehicle for employees who do not have access to a plan or who are not eligible.

A free webinar about myRA will be presented Friday, September 26, 2014 11:30 MDT. The webinar is hosted by United States Treasury Department, Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority. Register.