One chart shows how small businesses are ramping up a favorite worker perk

Millions more workers have access to retirement plans than in 2019.

MoMo Productions/Getty Images Millions more small-business workers have access to retirement plans than in 2019.

Reasons for the increase include mandates, retention, and caring about workers' finances.

Access to retirement plans is more prevalent in public administration than in other sectors.

Small businesses are offering retirement plans a lot more often than they used to, and white-collar workers are benefiting the most.

Nich Tremper, senior economist at payroll and benefits platform Gusto, said over 5 million more small-business workers had access to retirement plans than in 2019.

He said in a post that "industries that have historically not offered 401(k)s are now doing so more often." For instance, the share in the hospitality sector climbed from 4% in 2019 to 12% in 2026.

Public administration, professional services, and finance had the highest shares of businesses offering plans among 18 sectors, with public administration, information, and healthcare experiencing the largest percentage-point increases between 2019 and 2026.

Tremper told Business Insider that business owners thinking about the long-term finance of their workers, attempts to mitigate attrition, and newer state mandates are some of the plausible reasons behind the increases across sectors.

Non-exempt businesses in California that don't already have a qualified retirement plan and employ at least one worker need to offer the state-facilitated retirement savings program.

On the other side of the country, in Delaware, employers that conduct business in the state and don't already offer a qualified plan and have at least five W-2 employees must offer Delaware's program.

Are you a small-business owner offering certain benefits to stay competitive? Are you an employee who switched from a larger company? Reach out to this reporter to share your experience at [email protected] .

Having a retirement plan can help small businesses stay competitive with big corporations in the talent wars.

Howard Telson, who has run a small accounting firm since 2022, said the firm consistently hires, and a lot of his workers came from larger employers.