Welcome to Guideline. We’re excited to be your retirement plan provider. Our team will help transition your current retirement plan to our platform while your dedicated Onboarding Specialist will guide you through the onboarding and conversion process.
Transferring a retirement plan can take approximately 75 to 90 days to complete, but can vary based on your current provider. It’s our goal to ensure the transition is seamless for you and your team. Key milestones include:
Set up your plan
Invite employees to onboard within 2 weeks of completing plan setup
Start your plan within 45 days
Complete the transfer within 90 days
We know transitioning to a new retirement provider can be a long and challenging process. To help, we’ve outlined each phase of the process so you will know what to expect from start to finish, and can keep your employees up to date.
Onboarding phase 1: plan setup and timeline
Onboarding phase 1: plan setup and timeline
Phase one of the onboarding process is to get your plan set up and ready to invite employees to enroll. The plan setup will not be finalized until all action items have been completed. You will see a list of tasks on your Plan Sponsor dashboard along with prompts to guide you through the process.
Step 1: complete plan setup
You should have access to your plan sponsor dashboard to complete outstanding tasks. As you go through the setup phase, you will be assigned a dedicated Onboarding Specialist that will help you every step of the way until the plan asset transfer is completed. To help jump start the collection of required documentation the items below are required:
Participant report: This is a participant census report we require for all participants that have a balance with your prior 401(k) provider. The information should include:
First name
Last name
Date of birth
Date of hire
Date of termination (if applicable)
Current account balance
Email address (if dismissed, a personal email address)
Mailing address
A template is provided and can be downloaded from the task.
Loan report: If any participants have an active loan at the prior provider, Guideline requires the following loan details to be able to continue servicing the loan without interruption:
Loan origination amount
Loan repayment amount
Loan origination date
Interest rate
Total payment installments
Repayment schedule
First payment date
Final payment date
Current outstanding balance
Previous year 5500: The Form 5500 is a yearly report of plan activity for your 401(k) plan. You can simply report if and when it was filed.
Payroll roster: If your company is not signed up with one of our integrated payroll partners, you will need to submit a payroll roster census that will include the following:
First name
Last name
Email address
Date of hire
Date of birth
Date of termination (if any)
Mailing address
Current year salary
A template is provided and can be downloaded in the task. Please note, this is a separate file from the participant report above.
Compliance testing results: If your plan is not Safe Harbor and has failed nondiscrimination tests you will be required to submit the last two years reporting that include:
ADP (actual deferral percentage)
ACP (actual contribution percentage)
Top-heavy testing
If you are unsure about your test results, contact your prior plan provider.
Step 2: plan timeline and important dates
On your Plan Sponsor dashboard, you will find your onboarding timeline and important dates that will detail each milestone for your plan:
Enrollment Invitations: Invitations will be automatically emailed to eligible employees 30 days prior to the plan start date.
Plan start date: The start date of your plan and also the auto-enrollment date for employees that have neither opted in or out of the plan. Depending on the payroll platform used to service payroll, your responsibility processing first payroll contributions may be different. More information can be found here.
Integrated payroll: If your plan uses one of our full integration payroll partners, the integration will activate on the start date. There is no additional action required on your end.
Supported payrolls: Guideline is also able to connect with certain payroll providers. We can manage your 401(k) and take care of most administrative tasks so long as we have the necessary third-party administrator permissions to service your plan.
Self-serve plans: Self-serve plans have more flexibility when it comes to managing payroll. It will require you to be more hands on to ensure your payroll platform is set up and ready to deduct employee 401k withholdings when the plan starts. A more comprehensive list of day to day responsibilities can be found in this helpful support article.
First contributions: Will coincide with your company payroll schedule and will be the first contribution to the plan.
Curious to see an illustrative sample timeline? You can see a sample timeline on the website or download a copy.
Always reference the plan sponsor dashboard as the plan timeline and important dates will be available until first payroll contributions are collected.
Onboarding phase 2: initiate transfer and blackout notices
Onboarding phase 2: initiate transfer and blackout notices
In this phase, we will discuss notifying your current retirement plan provider your intent to terminate their services and request to transfer your existing retirement plan to Guideline. Your Onboarding Specialist can provide you communication templates that will help get you started reaching out to your current retirement provider to get the transfer in motion.
Step 1: initiate transfer
The transfer process does not happen automatically. You as the plan sponsor will need to reach out to your prior provider and notify them that the plan will be transferring to a new retirement provider.
Once your prior provider has been notified of the transfer, they will provide you with transfer paperwork that will need to be completed and returned to them. All information needed to complete the transfer documents can be found in the “Start your plan asset transfer to Guideline” task in your Guideline dashboard.
After the transfer paperwork has been completed, the transfer timeline will be provided. Please have your Onboarding Specialist confirm the black out start date and liquidation date is appropriate. Note: blackout notices will need to be sent out at least 30 days prior to the black out start date.
Make any final payments to your existing provider before the start of the blackout period or the date provided by your retirement provider.
After the plan transfer has completed and all assets have been transferred, your prior provider will give you final transfer documentation which Guideline requires in order to allocate the funds to the correct participants. More details will be provided on this topic in onboarding phase 3.
Step 2: blackout notices
As we move closer to scheduling a transfer date with your current provider, participants must be notified about important dates that may affect their accounts.
The blackout start date and liquidation date will need to be approved by your Onboarding Specialist who will make sure blackout notices will be sent to participants at least 30 days, but not to exceed 60 days, prior to the start of the blackout period.
During the blackout period, participants will temporarily be unable to direct or diversify their existing investments, obtain a loan, take a withdrawal or distribution from their account held by the current provider.
As a service Guideline provides, we will send blackout notices to all participants that have a valid email address. For participants with no valid email address, as the plan sponsor, you will be responsible for sending a blackout notice through certified mail to those impacted participants. A sample blackout letter is included at the end of the packet.
Onboarding phase 3: transfer reports and deposit participant funds
Onboarding phase 3: transfer reports and deposit participant funds
The final phase of the transfer process is collecting important data from the current retirement provider. There are deadlines to meet to ensure the conversion is on track to deposit assets into participant accounts before the blackout period ends. Your Onboarding Specialist may require your assistance with obtaining reports and any additional items to finalize the transfer.
Step 1: final transfer reports
Final transfer reports are the record-keeping reports of plan assets that provide a breakdown of participant funds. Reports are generally sent after the provider liquidates the plan assets and it can take several days to a week to be received. Be on the lookout for the report from your prior provider to make sure Guideline receives it on time.
Step 2: review reports
It’s important to review the transfer information, as this will direct Guideline, your new record-keeper on how to accurately record your plan assets. We may require additional information if needed, please continue to review the Plan Sponsor dashboard.
Step 3: deposit participant funds
The blackout end date is normally 30 days after the start of the blackout period, but could be longer depending on your current provider.
The blackout end date is the deadline when assets should be allocated to the participant’s accounts and signals that the plan transfer is finished. Guideline will allocate the money to the respective participant's new investment elections before the blackout date ends.
As you move to the next journey with Guideline, your dedicated Client Relationship Manager will become your resource as we continue to service your plan and your employees.
Post transfer items
After the plan assets and have been deposited into the participants' accounts there will be two tasks that will populate in your sponsor dashboard. The information will help Guideline accurately file your plan’s Form 5500 when it’s due the following year in July:
Upload the year-to-date participant report: If the year-to-date participant report is not provided with the final reports, this task will populate in your sponsor dashboard. You will need to contact your previous provider for this report. The report is a breakdown of the participant year-to-date contributions and the sources.
Provide additional information about your company’s 401(k) plan’s pre-Guideline activity required to complete your annual IRS filings: The pre-Guideline activity task is asking for information about 3 different areas: the previous plan administrative information, pre-Guideline plan assets, and any previous plan errors. The prior provider should be able to guide you in obtaining this information. Please note, this information pertains to the time the plan assets are held with your previous provider and captures activity between January 1st up to the date the assets have been transferred to your Guideline plan. This information is used to help file the 5500 for the year of the transfer.
Prior provider information
Total plan assets used to pay plan service providers
Total plan assets used to pay insurance service providers
Plan assets used to pay other expenses (audit, brokers, advisors, etc)
The number of participants who were terminated before reaching 100% vesting
Have you filed Form 8955-SSA reports in the past?
Prior plan assets
Were all invested assets considered eligible assets?
Was your plan involved in a merger/spinoff, and were there asset transfers that occurred from that?
Prior plan errors
The amount of participant contributions or loan payments that failed to transmit within 7 business days after being withheld from the participant's paycheck
The amount of benefits, such as a required minimum distributions (RMDs), that the plan failed to pay when due
Any loss to the plan caused by fraud or dishonesty
Any non-exempt transactions that occurred
Things to keep in mind
Things to keep in mind
Prior provider deconversion fees
Guideline does not charge a standalone fee for 401(k) plan transfers. See our Form ADV 2A Brochure for more information about our fees. You should check with your previous provider for any transfer fees they may charge.
Contributions to your prior provider
Continuing to make contributions to the previous plan until your Guideline plan begins can help avoid missed contributions that can result in additional taxes or penalties.
Once your plan officially starts at Guideline, you will then switch to making contributions only to your 401(k) plan here. If you have contributions that still need to be sent to your prior provider, please work with your prior provider. They will be the best point of contact to resolve any issues.
Email addresses for participants
Email addresses are required for all participants with a balance in the prior plan so that Guideline can send blackout notices as well as other required notices.
A personal email is also required for dismissed participants. If you cannot provide an email address, you as the plan sponsor will be responsible for sending out a copy by certified mail to all participants without an email address. Here's why we need contact details for dismissed employees.
Form 5500 filing
The Form 5500 is a report of plan activity that must be filed for your 401(k) plan each year. The form requires plans to disclose financial and operational details, which are used by the Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for reporting and compliance purposes.
The annual report requires disclosure of:
General plan information and service providers
Number of participants
Financial data, such as total assets, liabilities, contributions, distributions, income, expenses, and transfers
Types of benefits provided for under the plan
Operational activities
Plan funding
5500 requirements regarding your prior plan shall be addressed pre onboarding by our sales team during the initial set up process.
True up
Your previous plan design may have included a true-up provision. A true-up may require additional employer contributions to be allocated to employees who have not received the full employer contribution for the year upon transfer to Guideline.
With a true-up, an employer allocates additional employer contributions to an employee’s 401(k) account, so the individual receives the required employer contributions based on their full year salary instead of the employer contribution being based on compensation each payroll period.
For conversion plans that have a true-up provision for the year of conversion, Guideline will calculate the required true-up amount owed to the plan before December 31 of the following plan year. For the year after the conversion and moving forward, the plan will be amended to remove the true up provision. Most employer contributions will be calculated on a per payroll period basis going forward.
Please note that an annual true-up is not a service that Guideline offers other than when it is required for conversion plans. You will not be able to add a true-up provision to your Guideline plan in the future.
Plans with owners that have self-employed income will also have a true-up calculated the following year if the plan is making an employer contribution for the year. Guideline will send an email to notify you of a required true-up before it’s processed.
Key items
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Please take some time to review helpful FAQs about conversion plan transfers. If you would like to contact your dedicated Onboarding Specialist, please refer to your Plan Sponsor dashboard which will be available after the appropriate documents have been signed.
For general inquiries, contact the Onboarding Team at onboarding@guideline.com.
Do you have a sample blackout letter?
Dear XYZ Plan Participant,
You are receiving this notice regarding XYZ’s retirement benefits because our records show that you are a current or former employee of XYZ and may be participating or previously participated in XYZ’s retirement savings plan. If you did not participate in XYZ’s 401(k) plan, please disregard this notice.
Plan transfer & blackout period
Please be informed that XYZ is switching to Guideline 401(k) for its retirement plan services. During this transition, your retirement account will be temporarily frozen during a blackout period so that funds can be transferred to Guideline 401(k). The blackout period will begin [May 7, 2030] and end on approximately [June 6, 2030].
During the blackout period, you will temporarily be unable to direct or diversify your existing investments or obtain a loan, withdrawal or distribution from your account held by ABC 401(k).
If you are currently an employee of XYZ and are eligible to participate in the Guideline 401(k) plan, new 401(k) contributions will be applied to your Guideline 401(k) as of [May 15, 2030].
If you're no longer employed by XYZ
If you currently have assets in the plan, but are no longer employed by XYZ, Guideline will automatically deduct a small administrative fee of $4 per month from your account after a 90-day grace period following the end of the blackout period. This small fee will allow you to take advantage of Guideline’s low-cost investments and professionally managed portfolios.
Upon receipt of your assets, you will have the ability to make changes to your portfolio and manage your account with Guideline, however, you will not be able to contribute any new funds to the plan. If you do not create an account and choose a portfolio, your funds will be invested in a default portfolio based on your age and estimated time until retirement.
If you prefer not to have your funds transferred to Guideline, you should immediately contact your current plan provider to request an account distribution before the blackout period starts.
Access your Guideline 401(k)
To set up your account with Guideline, please contact us at support@guideline.com or (888) 228- 3491. You will be asked to verify your information for security purposes before being granted access to your account. You also have the right to receive information about your plan. Please contact us for a copy of your Summary Plan Description.
The information provided herein is general in nature and is for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for specific tax, legal and/or financial advice that considers all relevant facts and circumstances. You are advised to consult a qualified financial adviser or tax professional before relying on the information provided herein.