This is exactly what ABC Concrete, a small concrete company located outside Denver, Colo., did in 2002.

Their retirement plan provider, Merrill Lynch, created a beautiful, well thought-out, detailed PowerPoint presentation, with colorful graphics illustrating the specifics of the plan, including the employer match, vesting schedule and investment options.

The presentation was very effective with English-speaking audiences, and ABC's HR manager Jane believed that if it were well translated, it would go a long way toward turning around disappointing participation rates among Spanish-speaking employees.

It was not difficult to find a company to translate the presentation for a reasonable rate and provide a bilingual presenter for the meeting.

It's important for employers to note that it is risky to ask bilingual employees to lead such meetings, as they rarely are financial experts and usually lack the knowledge to explain industry-specific terms.

However, one of the principals with the translation company, a native Spanish speaker from South America, read ABC's presentation and was less than optimistic about ABC's chances of success in enrolling its Spanish-speaking employees in the retirement plan.

"It's great for us to get paid for translating this," he said to a colleague, "but nobody is going to sign up. Call the client and offer to add a few slides of our own to really bring people on board."

ABC accepted this offer and was thrilled with the results, as plan participation among Spanish-speaking employees increased dramatically.

What was in those new slides that accounted for this 180-degree turnaround?

The new slides debunked common misconceptions that Spanish speakers have about the U.S. financial system and retirement plans.

Among the key points employers need to address:

* How does the bank make its money? In general, Spanish speakers fear that money taken out of an employee's paycheck is pocketed by the salesperson, the retirement plan provider or their employer. Retirement plan education must clearly state that retirement plan providers take only a small percentage of investors' overall earnings, not their entire investment.

* What happens when/if I return home? Many Spanish speakers plan - or at least hope - to one day return to their country of origin.

While enrollment meetings usually address how distributions are handled for retirees in the United States, it must be made clear how earnings will be received if plan participants live in another country.

* If I can't see my money, it's not there. Spanish speakers tend to be much more comfortable with tangible investments - homes, cars or cash. When educating them about retirement savings, employers must explain that workers will actually lose money by saving cash because cash loses value over time.

Also, slides that illustrate the long-term stability of the U.S. financial system also are useful.

* Only wealthy people invest. In Latin America, in general, only wealthy and established individuals invest in the stock market. In fact, the Spanish word for stocks (acciones) evokes the same images of affluence to Spanish speakers as the words mansion and limousine might to an English speaker.

Often, when Spanish speakers are told that they can own stocks, their first reaction - particularly those with low to moderate incomes - is that the presenter is either grossly misinformed, trying con them or both.

* Investing is only for Americans. There is a widespread perception among Spanish speakers that the American financial system simply is not designed for them; rather, it is intended only to benefit American citizens. Poorly translated material reinforces this misconception, as people conclude that, if nobody bothered to communicate this clearly, it can't be intended for us.

Moreover, there is a fatalistic attitude in Hispanic culture - the belief that if one is born into poverty, there is nothing to be done about it.

A credible presenter must emphasize to Spanish speakers that people in America who succeed financially are familiar with the system and make well-informed choices, and that these same choices - such as participating in a retirement plan - are available to immigrant workers, as well.

While communicating these points clearly and effectively obviously is a more involved process than simple translation, it is well worth the investment, leading Spanish speakers to believe not only an employer-sponsored retirement plan is a valuable benefit, but acting on that belief to start toward a secure future.

Next month: Crafting banking solutions.