Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
If you run a startup, offering a retirement plan as part of your employee benefits package is a good way to attract and retain top talent, especially in today's increasingly challenging job market.
While the benefits of offering 401(k) plans to employees are many, administering those plans is fairly complex. Companies can easily set themselves up for penalties and audits if they don’t follow all the rules and requirements set in place by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL).
To reduce your liability and streamline the administration of your retirement benefits, you may want to consider adding a 401k solution to your HR Tech stack. This guide is meant to help your team pick the right 401(k) solution for your business while avoiding the relevant pitfalls.
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering.
User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
We track thousands of HR Tech solutions. Here are the best 401k Providers as of 2023.
Why we love it
:
ForUsAll is a great choice for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) because it is very quick to set up and quite affordable.
ForUsAll
Review:
ForUsAll is a cloud-based 401(k) administration platform for small and medium-sized businesses. Acting as both your 3(38) and 3(16) fiduciary, ForUsAll ensures you stay compliant while automating manual tasks such as contributions, 401(k) loans, eligibility tracking, hardships, and notifications. You can integrate ForUsAll with most cloud-based payroll systems for an automatic synchronization of your data. Payroll integration also allows it to automatically update deferrals, notify new participants when they become eligible, and more.
ForUsAll
Customers:
CMC Properties, Lever, Arbor Lodging, Smart Biz, Bolt Threads
CMC Properties, Lever, Arbor Lodging, Smart Biz, Bolt Threads
ForUsAll
Pricing:
ForUsAll costs as follows:
ForUsAll's pricing is not disclosed on their website. However, you may use their price calculator to get an estimate according to the size of your team and scope of your needs.
Best For
Why we love it
:
401GO is comprehensive but also extremely affordable; it charges up $9 per participate per month without any base fee, administration fees, filing fee or compliance fee.
401GO
Review:
401GO makes 401k administration easy and efficient with its automated and comprehensive platform for businesses of all sizes. Acting as your 3(16) and 3(38) fiduciary, 401GO handles everything from record-keeping, notifications, compliance testing, and day to day administration.
401GO
Customers:
401GO
Pricing:
401GO has two pricing plans:
401GO has two pricing plans:
Best For
Small businesses looking to offer or enhance the administration of their employee retirement benefits.
Why we love it
:
Human Interest is a scalable platform that works for both small businesses and large operations. It’s also quick to set up and offers transparent pricing.
Human Interest
Review:
Human Interest is a comprehensive, affordable, and scalable 401(k) provider made for growing businesses. It offers Traditional and Roth 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Safe Harbor plans, and profit-sharing plans. As for investments, Human Interest offers a good selection of mutual funds and target-date funds.
Human Interest
Customers:
Human Interest
Pricing:
Human Interest has three pricing plans:
Human Interest has three pricing plans:
Best For
Small and medium sized businesses looking to offer or enhance the administration of their employee retirement benefits.
Why we love it
:
Guideline is one of the biggest vendors in this space. It is robust, comprehensive and easy to use. Its low fees are also a bonus.
Guideline
Review:
Guideline is a full-service, user-friendly and affordable 401(k) platform. Offering both traditional and Roth 401(k) and acting as your 3(16) and 3(38) fiduciary, Guideline takes care of all your retirement plan needs from administration, investment management, compliance testing, and recordkeeping.
When it comes to investments, Guideline offers 40+ index funds including Vanguard funds and ones from other low-cost providers. Alternatively, participants can choose a managed portfolio with blended average fund fees under 0.07%.
Guideline
Customers:
Guideline
Pricing:
Guideline offers two pricing plans:
Guideline offers two pricing plans:
Best For
Small businesses looking to offer or enhance the administration of their employee retirement benefits.
Why we love it
:
What sets Betterment apart is that it isn't just a 401(k) platform, it offers holistic advice across all saving and investing goals.
Betterment
Review:
Betterment is a cloud-based financial and investment advisory platform with 3(16) and 3(38) support. It gives personalized, fiduciary advice for retirement planning, wealth building, and other financial goals so participants can invest wisely and make the most returns. Employers can use Betterment for Business to offer Traditional 401(k), Roth 401(k), Safe Harbor plans, and profit-sharing plans.
Betterment
Customers:
Betterment
Pricing:
Betterment offers two pricing plans:
Betterment offers two pricing plans:
Best For
Small and medium sized businesses looking to offer or enhance the administration of their employee retirement benefits.
Why we love it
:
Ubiquity is very quick to set up. Any company can create an account and have it ready for use in as little as 15 minutes.
Ubiquity
Review:
Ubiquity is a scalable platform for 401(k) administration. It facilitates contributions, profit-sharing, and allows for loans to be borrowed by employees against their retirement accounts. For an additional fee, Ubiquity also takes care of submitting your annual tax forms and providing tax compliance support. Do note though that it doesn’t select the investment funds for your portfolios. You will need to either choose a self-directed brokerage account or select a third-party broker/custodian.
Ubiquity
Customers:
Razor Rank, Pink Point Media, Geyser Equipment.
Razor Rank, Pink Point Media, Geyser Equipment.
Ubiquity
Pricing:
Ubiquity has 4 plans starting at $75 per month:
The exact pricing of the above plans isn’t disclosed on Ubiquity’s website. However, you may reach out to their sales team for an estimate according to the size of your team and scope of your needs.
Ubiquity has 4 plans starting at $75 per month:
The exact pricing of the above plans isn't disclosed on Ubiquity's website. However, you may reach out to their sales team for an estimate according to the size of your team and scope of your needs.
Best For
Why we love it
:
Paychex is an integrated platform that covers a great deal of HR needs. Having payroll and retirement benefits be managed on a single platform makes things a whole lot easier for businesses, especially small ones.
PayChex
Review:
Paychex is a robust all-in-one payroll and benefits system. It offers several retirement plan options including 401(k), 403(b), SOLO 401(k) for sole proprietors, and SIMPLE IRA. From plan enrollment to maintenance, Paychex takes care of the details for any size business.
PayChex
Customers:
ESET, Funnelbox Inc., Smile Cafe, H.Y.P.E. Counseling Services, ASG, Pet Partners
ESET, Funnelbox Inc., Smile Cafe, H.Y.P.E. Counseling Services, ASG, Pet Partners
PayChex
Pricing:
Paychex’s pricing isn’t listed on their website. However, you may reach out to their sales team for an estimate according to the size of your team and scope of your needs.
PayChex's pricing is not provided on their website, but the process to get a quote is pretty quick and simple.
Best For
It’s very easy to make mistakes when choosing a 401(k) solution if you don’t thoroughly research what's available on the market and carefully consider the needs and budget of your business. Here are some of the most common mistakes businesses make:
Like many software products out there, the cost and pricing models of 401(k) solutions vary from one vendor to another. Some vendors charge a flat rate fee per participant per month while others offer annual subscription fees. Monthly fees range from $4 - $9 per user per month and some include a $39 - $150 base fee per month in addition to the user fees. Furthermore, there may also be a training/setup fee, maintenance fees as well as an investment portfolio fee if applicable.
401(k) software can vary in terms of their overall offerings and target audience. While that may be the case, the following are some of the most essential features you can expect from most business-tailored 401(k) solutions available today:
When shopping for a 401(k) software (or any solution for that matter), we always recommend that you schedule as many demos as possible with different vendors to make sure their solution is compatible with the needs of your business. Here are a few questions you can ask during your demos:
Implementing a 401(k) software is relatively easy. Once you’ve chosen a product and purchased a plan that meets your needs, you can create an account and start defining your retirement plans by setting the terms for employee contribution matching, vesting, profit sharing, etc. Employees are then invited to sign up and define the terms for their retirement plans, including contribution amounts, loans, and choice of investment. Depending on the platform, you may be assigned an account manager and/or have access to a robo-advisor for investment advice.
In terms of deployment, the majority of 401(k) solutions are cloud-based, delivered through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) infrastructure. Getting started with a cloud-based solution is very quick as they all allow you to create an account and start configuring your instance right away.
On the other hand, some 401(k) solutions are self-hosted (on-premise). Self-hosted solutions generally take longer to set up, and depending on your chosen vendor, you may need to consult them regarding their solutions’ compatibility with your current hardware and installation process or better yet, have them do the installation for you.
401k software are solutions designed to administer retirement plans quickly and efficiently, avoiding IRS penalties and streamlining your HR processes.
Benefits of 401k software include affordability, automation of manual processes, ease of use for employers and employees, and simple compliance regulation.
401k software solutions also provide personalized fiduciary advice, profit-sharing plans, Safe Harbor plans, investment management, compliance testing, and notification systems.
401(k) software solutions are an affordable and easy way for small businesses to offer retirement benefits to their employees. Before choosing a vendor, we always advice that you:
Stay on top of what really matters in HR and People Tech. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up on the latest news, trends, and culture.