...About 56 percent of all wage and salary employees ages 21 to 64 had an employer or union-sponsored pension or retirement plan last year, according to a report released this month by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C. Overall, about 53 percent of full-time, full-year workers participate in such plans, but the Institute's analysis of 2007 U.S. Census data found non-native Hispanics were less likely to participate than whites, blacks or non-immigrant Hispanics.

Matthew Gnabasik, managing director of Blue Prairie Group, a human resources and investment consulting firm in Chicago, said there is a "generally accepted truism" in the industry that in companies with large Spanish-speaking immigrant populations, participation in retirement savings plans is low. "It's often said that there is a cultural element to that," he said.

Human resources directors, he said, repeatedly tell him that among Spanish-speaking immigrants, those who are working feel a greater responsibility to care for older family members than to invest in a retirement plan. In addition, Gnabasik said, it is difficult to get lower-income workers to participate in a plan.

Burkhart is working to change that. A former English, Spanish and social studies teacher in Denver Public Schools, Burkhart launched Futuro Sólido in 2001 with help from her Colombian-born husband Ferney Colorado, who is also her consultant. Her mission is to help companies tear down the myths and cultural obstacles that keep Spanish-speaking employees from enjoying robust benefits and to help them perform better in the workplace. ...

"Our emphasis is not just on translating accurately, but getting the results the client wants, whether that's understanding and compliance of safety regulation so their workers' compensation claims stay reasonable ... or whether that's having people participate in their 401(k)." ...

In a report released earlier this month in the health care journal Inquiry, researchers found that many Spanish-speaking Latinos are in low-wage jobs that don't offer health insurance plans. For those whose companies offer a plan, the report, entitled, "Why do Latinos Have So Little Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance," found the cost of premiums to be a deterrent. Len Nichols, director of the Health Policy Program at the Washington, D.C.-based New America Foundation and a co-author of the report, said a higher priority for them is to be able to send money home.

"In that sense, making sure you have as much cash now is at a premium in that community," he said. Nichols said Burkhart appears to have a niche company; he knows of no other company that is targeting Spanish-speaking immigrants to get them enrolled in employer-sponsored benefits.

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