Labor Secretary Alexis Herman has made it a point to meet with groups of small business owners in various cities across the country to hear their concerns and to provide helpful information to assist them in overcoming obstacles in establishing plans for their employees. This site allows businesses to review various plan options available to them with a description of the features of each. Based on the responses to key questions, such as number of workers employed by the company and the decision to contribute or not to contribute to the workers retirement, plan options are provided to the business owner. Women and Minorities Just 39 percent of female full-time workers in the private sector are covered by private pension plans, compared to 46 percent of men. Only 32 percent of female retirees age 55 and over received pension benefits in 1994, compared to 55 percent of male retirees.
Minorities also face special challenges for retirement savings.
While 51 percent of whites working in the private sector participate in pension plans, only 32 percent of the 2.3 million Hispanics Americans do and just 38 percent of African Americans do. Only 32 percent of Hispanics age 55 and over receive pensions compared to 40 percent for African Americans and 52 percent for white retirees. In order to help improve these statistics, the Department of Labor has initiated several activities. The Department sponsored a Working Women's Summit in 1996 and participated in the Every Woman's Money Conference in Oregon in 1998. One of the top concern's facing today's working woman is making sure that there are sufficient funds available for her retirement security.