Business Notes

Comfortably escaping the grind of daily toil should be a pleasure, but for many Americans it isn't even a possibility. Without a pension -- which some 42 million U.S. workers lack -- or adequate savings, retirement could rest on Social Security. Last week Labor Secretary Lynn Martin announced a plan -- dubbed Power, for Pension Opportunities for Workers' Expanded Retirement -- to help the pensionless.

Most of America's new jobs over the past several years have been in small businesses, more than half of which do not offer retirement benefits. Martin's proposal would eliminate much of the paperwork for companies with 100 or fewer employees, encouraging them to set up plans. Employers would have to contribute 2% of an employee's pay, and a worker could contribute up to about $4,200 on a pretax basis, as much as 50% of which could be matched by the employer. The proposal also takes a step toward portable pensions: workers who change jobs could transfer pension benefits by telling their new employer to roll the money into an IRA. Since the plan is more modest than earlier efforts, chances for congressional approval look good.