Bipartisan legislation is now under consideration by Congress to make it easier for small businesses to offer 401(k)s and other retirement plans for employees. The bill is intended to streamline federal filing requirements, cut red tape and reduce costs for small businesses that join together to create a common retirement plan.

It’s the latest development in a broader effort by Congress and the financial services industry to help make it easier and less expensive for small businesses to sponsor retirement plans and potentially make them more widely available to more workers. In today’s marketplace, the smaller the company, the less likely its employees are to have access to a 401(k) or similar retirement savings plan or participate in a plan if they have access, according to a 2016 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, “Who’s In, Who’s Out.” For example, only 22 percent of workers at firms with fewer than 10 employees report having access to a workplace savings plan or pension, compared with 74 percent at firms with 500 or more, Pew reported.

The scarcity of retirement plans sponsored by small businesses is an opportunity for financial advisors to make a difference, providing they understand the special needs of small businesses and have the necessary support and resources. Advisors who are most successful in the small-plan market typically focus on what small businesses identified as being most important in MassMutual’s 2016 Winning Combination study: helping reduce costs, educating employees on retirement savings, providing outstanding service and offering fiduciary support.

Reducing Costs

More than half of small-business owners who did not offer a plan cited cost as the biggest reason, according to a 2013 Main Street Alliance/American Sustainable Business Council survey from 2013. Setting up a retirement plan generally includes both fixed costs and a marginal cost for each employee who participates, which means that smaller employers often contend with larger fixed costs on a per employee basis than larger firms.

Small employers with less than $25 million in retirement plan assets under management say they find advisors who can help them reduce their costs as especially valuable, MassMutual learned in its 2016 Winning Combination Study of what employers most want from a retirement plan advisor.

Employers or plan sponsors that do not currently work with a financial advisor emphasize reducing plan costs far more than firms that currently work with an advisor, MassMutual’s study found. Once an employer partners with an advisor, though, they typically focus on other issues such as their fiduciary responsibilities.

Advisors say that providing good service and building a relationship with sponsors is far more important for retaining rather than winning business. The insight is that many employers don’t know what they don’t know; working with an advisor helps educate employers on their broader responsibilities and opportunities. Call it right-sizing retirement.

Educating Employees

Smaller employers tend to value retirement education for their employees somewhat less than larger firms. In fact, the larger the employer, the more likely the firm is to want an advisor to help educate employees semiannually or more often.

However, advisors report a growing trend in that more plan sponsors are interested in education for employees, especially as it relates to encouraging contributions to their retirement plan. Most recordkeepers are providing more educational resources, including new tools to measure retirement readiness by both accumulated assets as well as monthly income. If a smaller employer seems less than interested in education, ask how many employees are on target to retire on time by replacing at least 75 percent of their preretirement income at age 67.

Full-service recordkeepers usually have networks of education specialists who can conduct group meetings, often in tandem with an advisor, and even meet individually with plan participants. Some firms offer technology such as tablets for group meetings that allow participants to take action in real time, including signing up for their retirement plan, boosting contributions or reallocating assets.

Servicing Plans

Smaller employers, many of which have few resources to manage their employee benefits let alone their retirement plan, often place a premium on good service. Good service is defined by employers as an advisor who listens and responds to their needs, is available when needed, and is quick to provide solutions.

Regular plan reviews may be especially important to sponsors that work with an advisor. MassMutual’s research found near unanimity on this issue, with 95 percent of all plan sponsors saying that reviewing the plan and its performance were extremely or very important for good service.

Yet, there is a huge disconnect when it comes to plan reviews. Many sponsors place a high priority on satisfaction with the plan provider and investment performance while participation rates and retirement readiness fall lower on the priority list. It’s no small mistake.

Advisors should flip that dynamic by helping employers focus on savings, the effectiveness of education programs, and the ultimate metric: whether their employees are on target to be retirement ready. Participation in the plan is certainly important too. But if every employee participates yet each saves only 1 percent of his or her salary, it may be ineffective as no one will ever be prepared to retire.

Fiduciary Foresight

Perhaps the biggest challenge of all for many employers—especially smaller employers—is to understand their fiduciary obligations. Only one in two employers with $5 million to $25 million in retirement assets understood that they and their advisor are fiduciaries and only 32 percent of those with less than $5 million in assets understood, MassMutual’s research shows.

With the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule in a state of flux, different advisory firms are taking different approaches in addressing fiduciary issues. However, several firms and recordkeepers have introduced fiduciary support services, including 3(21) and 3(38) programs that provide investment selection and monitoring, to assist employers in meeting their fiduciary responsibilities. A 3(21) program allows sponsors greater discretion over fund selection while a 3(38) service automatically updates funds to ensure compliance.

As America’s population ages, the larger forces—government and the financial services industry—are focusing on making retirement plans more widely available for everyone. All Americans, whether they work for a big national corporation or small neighborhood business, deserve the opportunity to prepare themselves for a comfortable retirement.

As a knowledgeable financial advisor, you can play a big role in that mission. By learning the special needs of smaller employers, you can help them sponsor a quality retirement plan to help their employees create financial security for themselves and their families. In doing so, you may ensure that when it comes to a retirement plan, size really shouldn’t matter.

E. Thomas Foster Jr. is assistant vice president of strategic relationships for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual).