Our 401(k) Administration Services

Affordability and customer service is a hard combination to find these days. Employee Fiduciary clients are assigned a dedicated relationship manager for personal care.

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We Have Your Back!

We know 401(k) plans can be confusing. To demystify them for plan sponsors and participants, our services are designed to be transparent, consultative, and timely. Key features include:

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Custom Plan Design 

An off-the-shelf 401(k) plan can cost your business thousands of dollars in unnecessary expenses annually. We'll help you design a custom plan that fits your unique goals at the lowest cost.

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Personal Service

We know 401(k) questions can be urgent or technical from time to time. To best ensure your plan questions are answered timely and accurately, we'll assign you a dedicated relationship manager.

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Clear Guidance

401(k) plan administration shouldn't be confusing or time-consuming for business owners. We'll complete the most technical and time-consuming tasks while making your role easy to manage with clear guidance.

We're a Full-Service 401(k) Provider

401(k) providers come in two basic types - bundled or unbundled. Bundled (or "full-service") providers deliver all of the administration services a retirement plan needs - asset custody, participant recordkeeping, and Third-Party Administration (TPA) - while unbundled providers must ally with at least one other company to deliver all of the necessary services.

Employee Fiduciary is a bundled 401(k) provider. That means we are the only company you must hire to offer a plan to your employees unless you also want a financial advisor for investment advice.

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Why Choose Us

Employee Fiduciary is employee-owned and fully-independent. Our guiding principles are transparency and simplicity because we know 401(k) confusion often leads to lower investment returns for plan participants and unnecessary time and expense for business owners. 

Our services are designed to make it easy for business owners to offer a cost-efficient plan that meets the needs of their employees and company.  For more details, please check out our FAQs below or request a proposal.

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4000+

Small Business Retirement Plans

$5+ Billion

Retirement Assets Managed

135,000+

Participants Served

Your Path to a Faster Retirement Starts Here

Starting a new 401(k) can seem overwhelming. We’re going to lay it out for you in a way that’s straightforward and transparent. Here are the steps.

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Talk to a person,
not a bot

Whether you have questions about our services or 401(k) plans in general, we have answers. Get matched with a sales consultant that puts your needs and budget first.

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Design a custom retirement plan

Business owners can have dramatically different goals for their 401(k) plan. Once you sign up, we'll help you design a plan that meets your goals for the lowest cost.

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Start saving
and enjoy

Once your 401(k) plan is designed, we will get it up-and-running as quickly as possible so you and your employees can begin benefitting.

What our customers are saying…
  • “I can now sleep at night knowing that Employee Fiduciary has no hidden charges. My bookkeeper who processes the contributions each week has commented how simple it is. Thank you EF”
  • “We have been very pleased with Employee Fiduciary. They’re responsive and great at demystifying 401(k) management. The fee structure is low-cost and transparent and they offer a broad range of investment options. They’ve worked very well for us.”
  • “With all of the headaches associated with running a business, you have far exceeded my expectations in completing this conversion process.”

    Get Started with Employee Fiduciary and Retire Faster

    Don't let 401(k) confusion come between you and your retirement. With Employee Fiduciary, you’ll feel confident that you’re not being taken advantage of and are on the right path to retirement.

    Request a Proposal

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Have questions about Employee Fiduciary or our services? Check out our FAQ. Need further assistance? Contact us.

    What Third-Party Administration (TPA) services does Employee Fiduciary provide?

    Third-Party Administration involves completing the annual tasks necessary to keep a 401(k) plan in compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Under our care, your plan will meet every regulation to the letter of the law, on or before the applicable deadline.

    Our services include:

    • Keeping your plan document up to date with applicable law
    • Completing annual nondiscrimination testing (as applicable)
    • Preparing a signature-ready Form 5500 and Summary Annual Report (SAR)
    • Calculating year-end contribution allocations
    • Preparing any necessary participant notices (e.g., safe harbor 401(k) notice)
    What plan recordkeeping services does Employee Fiduciary provide?

    A 401(k) recordkeeper is essentially the bookkeeper of your 401(k) plan. A recordkeeper’s responsibilities include allocating the assets of your plan to participant accounts and executing participant trades. We leave nothing to chance when performing this important job, reconciling all participant accounts to the penny each day to ensure no trades are missed.

    Our services include:

    • Providing 24/7 online account access to participants and the plan sponsor
    • Updating share prices, and individual account balances daily
    • Processing plan trades, including contributions, distributions and fund transfers
    • Preparing quarterly benefit statements
    • Originating and maintaining participant loans
    • Providing participant fee disclosure notices
    What are the steps in the Employee Fiduciary plan design process?

    At Employee Fiduciary, we don’t sell cookie-cutter 401(k) plans. Instead, we start every plan setup with a consultation where our experts will...

    • Walk you through the plan design process step-by-step
    • Help you decide if a Safe Harbor 401(k) is right for you
    • Discuss plan features that can save you money, minimize admin work, and help you pass annual compliance tests
    • Design an optional employer contribution scheme, including non-elective, matching, or profit-sharing contributions
    What are the steps in the Employee Fiduciary plan setup process?

    Once your plan is designed, a new business consultant will do all the heavy lifting to get your plan set up.

    All plans:

    • Prepare a plan document and Summary Plan Description (SPD)
    • Establish participant and trust accounts
    • Receive investment approval from the custodian
    • Prepare participant enrollment materials
    • Establish website access for you and
      your employees
    • Provide website and contribution submission training

    Takeover plans only:

    • Coordinate the transfer of plan assets
      from your outgoing provider.
    • Prepare the blackout notice for
      plan participants.
    • Reconcile the plan assets transferred
      from your outgoing provider.
    Is my business eligible for a tax credit if I start a new 401(k) plan?

    Maybe. The SECURE Act permits an eligible small business to claim a tax credit for adopting a new 401(k) plan and/or a new automatic enrollment feature.

    • Qualified startup costs - Before the SECURE Act, a small business could claim a tax credit equal to 50% of their “qualified startup costs,” up to a $500 limit. Now, the limit is the greater of (1) $500 or (2) the lesser of (a) $250 multiplied by the number of non-Highly Compensated Employees (non-HCEs) eligible for plan participation or (b) $5,000. This credit is available for up to three years.
    • Automatic enrollment - Small businesses can earn an additional $500 tax credit by adding an automatic enrollment feature to a new or existing 401(k) plan. The credit is available for each of the first three years the feature is effective.

    When combined, these credits can total up to $5,500 per year ($16,500 for 3 years).

    What are my options for paying Employee Fiduciary fees?

    Employee Fiduciary fees can be paid by the plan sponsor - via Automated Clearing House (ACH) or credit card - or deducted from participant accounts pro rata based on account balance.

    About 80% of clients pay our fees by ACH or credit card to help participant accounts grow faster.

    What are my investment options with Employee Fiduciary?

    Many 401(k) providers limit your investment options to high-priced mutual funds that pay them hidden compensation (known as "revenue sharing"). Not us.

    With Employee Fiduciary, you get access to all NSCC-tradeable funds on the market - nearly 30,000 share classes from 377 fund families. 

    This includes low-cost options such as:

    • Vanguard
    • Index Funds
    • Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

    You can also elect to include a self-directed brokerage account from TD Ameritrade, which allows you to invest in any fund on the market - even those outside your plan's fund lineup.

    What are my professional investment advice options with Employee Fiduciary?

    With Employee Fiduciary, you have two basic options for professional investment advice - Target Date Funds or a financial advisor.  To choose the best option for you plan, you should understand their pros and cons

    Target Date Funds

    There is no easier way for 401(k) participants to access professional investment advice.  To do so, they simply need to invest 100% of their 401(k) account in the Target Date Fund (TDF) that best matches their estimated retirement date.

    Pros:

    • There is no simpler way for 401(k) participants to access professional investment advice.
    • Set it and forget it. TDFs offer automatic rebalancing. Further, their asset allocation will gradually shift to fewer stocks and more bonds (i.e., become more conservative) the closer the participant gets to retirement.
    • Low cost. The investment expense of a Vanguard Target Date Index Fund (TDIF) can be less than 15 bps (0.15% of assets) annually.
    • TDFs can qualify as a Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA) when participant disclosure requirements are met.

    Cons

    • Advice can’t be personalized to meet individual investment goals.
    • TDFs comprised of actively-managed investments can get expensive.
    • TDFs offer no participant engagement or coaching.

    Financial Advisor

    This advice can be customized or delivered in-person – factors than can motivate more savings by plan participants. 

    Pros

    • Advice can be personalized to meet individual investment goals.
    • In-person advice can be helpful in motivating 401(k) participants to keep their retirement savings on track. Like a personal fitness trainer.
    • Non-investment services can make 401(k) plan sponsorship less stressful for business owners.

    Cons

    • Can be a lot more expensive than target data funds.  401(k) participants should receive commensurate value in return.

    Have Retirement Plan Questions? We Have Answers

    Our Knowledge Center provides unbiased retirement plan education for both employers and employees. 

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    Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans - Frequently Asked Questions

    Safe harbor 401(k) plans are the most popular type of small business 401(k) today. Check out our FAQ to help decide whether one is right for your company.

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    401(k) Fee Study - 75% of Small Business Plans Pay Hidden Fees

    “Are my 401(k) fees too high?” is a common question asked by both plan sponsors and participants. Our small business fee study offers perspective.

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    401(k) Retirement Planning – 4 Steps to Retire as Soon as Possible

    Some basic retirement planning can dramatically reduce the out-of-pocket cost of your retirement. Our 4-step plan requires no investing knowledge at all.