This study analyzed how business‐owning families prepare for their retirement using four indicators: (i) having established retirement as a goal for savings, (ii) ownership of a Defined Benefit (DB) or Defined Contribution (DC) plan, (iii) ownership of IRA/Keogh accounts, and (iv) the amount of retirement assets. Results using a pooled dataset of the 2010–2016 Survey of Consumer Finances indicated that business‐owning families with a sole proprietorship and those who intermingled assets between the family and the business were less likely to own an IRA or Keogh accounts and they had lower amounts of retirement assets than their counterparts. The age of a business was positively related to owning DB or DC plans, while the business's net worth was negatively associated with the likelihood of owning DB or DC plans and establishing retirement as a savings goal. Among family‐related factors, respondents' education, homeownership, use of a financial planner for savings and investment decisions, and risk tolerance were positively associated with owning DB/DC plans, IRA/Keogh accounts, and the amount of retirement assets. The results can be used by practitioners and educators to advise family business owners about retirement preparation.