
If you're looking for simple 401k providers, you have several options to consider. Fidelity Investments is one such provider that offers a range of 401k plans for both employers and employees.
Fidelity's 401k plans are designed to be easy to set up and manage, with low fees and a variety of investment options. For example, their 401k plans offer over 15,000 mutual funds and ETFs to choose from.
Vanguard is another well-known provider that offers simple 401k plans for employers and employees. Their plans are known for their low fees and high-quality investment options.
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Simple 401k Providers
Simply Retirement by Principal is a great option for setting up a workplace retirement plan. It makes it easy to learn more about retirement plans and what's involved, and you can use their planner to see what a plan might look like for your business and estimate costs.
You can take advantage of SECURE 2.0 Act tax credits to help offset up to 100% of your first three years of plan startup costs, which can be up to $5,000 per tax year for some employers.
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Setting up your plan is a breeze with Simply Retirement by Principal – you can do it 100% online, or call them if you have questions. They've streamlined the investment selection and simplified the paperwork, too.
Ubiquity Retirement + Savings is the platform used by thousands of small businesses across the U.S. to enroll employees in their retirement plans, and it's user-friendly.
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Types of 401k Plans
For small businesses, finding the right 401(k) plan can be overwhelming, but it's essential to offer your employees a secure retirement option. Guideline offers Safe Harbor, traditional, starter, and solo 401(k) plans, which are fully managed and integrate with top payroll providers.
These plans come with tiered pricing models, which can lower costs for small businesses. Guideline's pricing ranges from $39 to $149, plus $4 to $8 per active employee. Participants also pay annual account fees, ranging from 0.15% to 0.35%.
Guideline also offers other plan options, including SEP IRA plans for self-employed owners and individual traditional and Roth IRA accounts.
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Guideline
Guideline offers a range of 401(k) plans for small businesses, including Safe Harbor, traditional, starter, and solo 401(k) plans. These plans are fully managed, covering annual report preparation and filing.
Guideline's pricing varies from $39 to $149, plus $4 to $8 per active employee. Participants also pay annual account fees, ranging from 0.15% to 0.35%.
Guideline's services integrate with top payroll providers, including OnPay, Gusto, and QuickBooks. This makes it easy for small businesses to manage their 401(k) plans alongside their payroll.
Guideline offers more than just 401(k) plans for employees. They also provide SEP IRA plans for self-employed owners and individual traditional and Roth IRA accounts.
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401(k) Plans for Small Businesses
If you're a small business owner, finding a low-cost 401(k) retirement plan for your employees can be a challenge. One option is to partner with a professional employer organization (PEO), which gives you access to the largest retirement plan providers.
This can help you design a 401(k) plan for your small business with tiered pricing models, which can lower costs. Some financial services firms also offer pooled employer plan (PEP) or multiple employer plan (MEP) 401(k) options.
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Small employers with 50 or fewer employees can now count 100% (maximum $5,000 a year) of their qualified plan expenses toward the tax credit calculation, allowing more employers to maximize the tax credit. This new enhancement was made to the tax credits intended to help cover the costs for small employers that choose to offer new defined contribution plans.
Guideline is a small business 401(k) provider offering various plans, including Safe Harbor, traditional, starter, and solo 401(k) plans. The service integrates with top payroll providers, making it a convenient option for many small businesses.
Here are the details on Guideline's 401(k) pricing:
In addition to 401(k) plans for employees, Guideline also offers SEP IRA plans for self-employed owners and individual traditional and Roth IRA accounts.
Profit Sharing Plans
Profit-sharing plans can be a great way to boost workplace productivity, especially when your business is profitable.
You can set up a profit-sharing plan as a defined contribution retirement program similar to 401(k) accounts.
Only employers contribute to profit-sharing plans, which can be administered by various companies, including employee retirement providers, pension plan administrators, financial advisors, and third-party administrators (TPAs).
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Plan Setup and Costs
Setting up a 401(k) plan can be a straightforward process. You can enroll employees and start saving right away.
Small employers with 50 or fewer employees can now count 100% of their qualified plan expenses toward the tax credit calculation, allowing them to maximize the tax credit. This can help offset up to $5,000 a year in costs.
The SECURE 2.0 Act offers tax credits to help offset plan startup costs. For some employers, this can cover up to 100% of costs for the first three years, up to $5,000 per tax year.
You can set up your plan entirely online, and the investment selection process has been streamlined. Simplified paperwork is also available to make the process easier.
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Setup Fee for Bundled Plans
The setup fee for bundled plans can be a bit of a mystery, but I've got the scoop. The recordkeeping fee for Simply Retirement by Principal's bundled pricing is $185 per month, or $555 billed quarterly, plus per-participant fees.
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This fee is a significant reduction from the standard recordkeeping fee of $435 plus per-participant fees. I think it's worth noting that this bundled pricing is only available when working with a third-party administrator (TPA).
With this bundled plan, you can also expect to pay additional fees for custodial services, investment fees, and financial professional and TPA fees, if applicable.
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Contribution Limits
Contribution limits are an essential aspect of plan setup and costs.
Employee contributions are capped at $16,000 in 2024 and $15,500 in 2023.
For employees aged 50 and over, an additional catch-up contribution of $3,500 is allowed in 2023 and 2024.
Employers can provide a dollar-for-dollar match up to 3% of pay.
Employers can also make a 2% non-elective contribution for each eligible employee.
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Who Contributes
When setting up a plan, you'll want to consider who contributes to it. Employee salary deferrals are a common way for individuals to save for their future.
Employees can contribute a portion of their salary to the plan, which is then invested on their behalf. This can be a great way to start building savings early on.
Employers can also contribute to the plan, which can help to boost the account balance and provide a higher return on investment.
Explore Your Business 401(k) Plan
You can now enroll employees and start saving with a 401(k) plan for your business. Small employers with 50 or fewer employees can count 100% of their qualified plan expenses toward the tax credit calculation, allowing them to maximize the tax credit.
The SECURE 2.0 Act offers tax credits to help offset up to 100% of your first three years of plan startup costs. This can be a huge benefit for small businesses looking to start a retirement plan.
Setting up a 401(k) plan can be a daunting task, but Simply Retirement by Principal makes it easy to learn more about retirement plans and what's involved. You can use their planner to see what a plan might look like for your business and estimate costs.
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Small business Roth 401(k) plans can help attract diverse talent and retain highly paid team members. With a Roth 401(k), employees can enjoy tax-free retirement withdrawals.
You can set up your plan 100% online, where and when it's convenient for you, or call if you have questions. Simply Retirement by Principal has streamlined the investment selection and simplified the paperwork, making the process much easier.
The Ubiquity Retirement + Savings platform is used by thousands of small businesses across the U.S. and will help you manage your plan and save time with features like automated notifications and payroll integration.
With a Roth 401(k), employees can contribute up to higher limits than a Roth IRA, and there are no annual income restrictions. Be sure to check with your brokerage to see if employees can split their contributions.
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Plan Features and Options
Finding the right 401(k) plan for your small business can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Some providers offer tiered pricing models, which can lower costs for small businesses.
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You can explore employer retirement plan options from reputable providers like Simply Retirement by Principal. They offer a streamlined online setup process and a user-friendly dashboard to manage your plan.
One option is to partner with a professional employer organization (PEO) to access the largest retirement plan providers. This can give your company access to the best 401(k) plans with lower costs.
Here are some key features of Simply Retirement by Principal's plans:
- 100% online setup process
- Streamlined investment selection
- Simplified paperwork
- Automated notifications and payroll integration
Additionally, Simply Retirement by Principal offers a planner to help you estimate costs and see what a plan might look like for your business.
Tax Credits for New Small Business Retirement Plans
Tax credits are available to help small businesses cover the costs of new retirement plans. A new enhancement has been made to the tax credits for small employers that choose to offer defined contribution plans.
Small employers with 50 or fewer employees can now take advantage of a tax credit. They can count 100% (maximum $5,000 a year) of their qualified plan expenses toward the tax credit calculation.
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Annuities

Annuities can be a solution for retirees concerned about running out of money, as 76% of respondents to a Greenwald Research survey are worried about this issue.
Many employers offer qualified employee annuity plans as part of a 401(k) or pension plan, which can provide a guaranteed lifetime income stream.
Employee retirement providers, like 401(k) administrators, may offer annuities, or you can purchase them from life insurance companies, mutual fund businesses, brokerage firms, or banks.
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Pros and Cons
One of the key benefits of this type of plan is that employees are fully vested in all contributions, meaning they own the money from day one.
This plan's straightforward benefit formula makes it easy to administer, which can be a big plus for employers.
In exchange for this simplicity, there are some trade-offs to consider. For example, the plan is not subject to the non-discrimination rules that apply to everyday 401(k) plans.
This means that employers may need to take extra steps to ensure the plan is fair to all employees.
Here are some of the key pros and cons to consider:
- Employees are fully vested in all contributions.
- Straightforward benefit formula allows for easy administration.
- Optional participant loans and hardship withdrawals add flexibility for employees.
- No other retirement plans can be maintained.
- Withdrawal and loan flexibility adds administrative burden for the employer.
Plan Providers and Services

If you're looking for a simple 401(k) provider, you've got several options to consider.
T. Rowe Price offers no-load mutual funds and no setup costs for their SEP IRA plans. The $20 annual participant fee is waived if you subscribe to paperless statement delivery or maintain balances above a certain amount.
Ascensus recently assumed Vanguard's owner-only 401(k) plans and offers a range of retirement services, including individual 401(k), business 401(k), and SIMPLE IRA plans. Custodial services cost $20 per participant annually, and account holders pay $25 yearly per Vanguard fund.
Paychex is another top 401(k) plan provider that offers retirement plan administration, employee benefits, and payroll processing services. They have owner-only and pooled employer 401(k) plans that integrate with their HR and payroll processing system, Paychex Flex.
Some popular simple 401(k) providers include:
- T. Rowe Price
- Ascensus
- Paychex
- Simply Retirement by Principal
T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price offers a range of retirement plans for small businesses, including SEP IRA plans with no setup costs and a waived $20 annual participant fee for investors who subscribe to paperless statement delivery or maintain balances above a certain amount.
You can choose from over 150 no-load mutual funds with T. Rowe Price SEP IRA plans.
Other small business retirement options from T. Rowe Price include SIMPLE IRA, solo 401(k), and business 401(k) plans.
The custodial services cost $20 per participant annually with T. Rowe Price SEP IRA plans, but this fee is waived under certain conditions.
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ShareBuilder 401(k)**
ShareBuilder 401(k) is an online 401(k) provider for self-employed and small to medium-sized business owners. They offer diverse index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and several model portfolios for different risk styles.
You can choose from Safe Harbor, traditional, tiered profit sharing, and solo 401(k) options. Employer 401(k) plans start at under $100 monthly.
Investment expenses cost less than 1%. There is a one-time setup fee and annual fund fees range from 0.04% to 0.39%. With ShareBuilder 401k's automatic pricing discounts, the investment and monthly fees decrease as your plan's assets grow.
Here's a breakdown of ShareBuilder 401k's fees:
ShareBuilder 401k's automatic pricing discounts can help reduce your fees over time, making it a cost-effective option for small businesses.
Roth 401(k) Providers
Small business Roth 401(k) plans can help your company attract diverse talent and retain highly paid team members.
Some retirement plan providers offer traditional 401(k) plans with the option to split contributions between pre-tax and Roth methods.
Roth 401(k)s have higher contribution limits than Roth IRAs.
No annual income restrictions apply to Roth 401(k)s.
Check with your brokerage to see if employees can split their contributions.
Consider a top 401(k) provider for small businesses for more options.
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Planning and Next Steps
Let's get started with the next steps for your 401(k) plan. You can share your plan proposal with your team, which is a great way to get everyone on the same page.
You'll also need to complete your plan purchase and get your login, which will give you access to all the tools and resources you need to manage your plan.
Still have questions about managing a 401(k) plan? Don't worry, you're not alone. As the plan administrator, you'll have a few basic responsibilities, but the program automates many of the tasks required.
You'll need to set aside a portion of your pay, typically before taxes, and you can choose to contribute to your employees' retirement plans if you want to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the disadvantages of a simple 401k?
Mandatory contributions and paperwork can be a burden for some companies, making SIMPLE 401(k) plans not suitable for everyone.
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