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401(k) Plan Administration Compliance

Worry-Free 401(k) Plan Compliance with Guidant

401(k) Plan Administration Compliance

Worry-Free 401(k) Plan Compliance with Guidant

We're Your Expert 401(k) Third-Party Administration Team

Guidant is your trusted partner to start your small business or franchise strong. As part of your Rollovers for Business Startups (ROBS) funding, we’ll help you set up a new 401(k) plan for your business. But we’re not a one-and-done firm: we’re here for you for the life of your business. Our Third-Party Plan Administration (TPA) services help keep your 401(k) plan compliant with the IRS and DOL so you don’t have to worry about anything but the success of your business.

In-House Plan Administration Team

Our in-house team of 401(k) plan administration experts know every aspect of keeping your plan up-to-date and operating correctly. When you have a question or need help, you're always talking to a member of the team at Guidant - not an outsourced company.

We're Invested in Your Success

Guidant is dedicated to using our experience and effort to help you succeed in small business. Our expertise, effort, and high standards ensure that our clients are the best supported, highest educated, and most protected in the industry.

Technology That Works for You

With our custom-build Client Portal, everything you need is in one simple, easy-to-access place. With our integrated business services like Guidant Bookkeeping & Tax and Guidant Payroll, your data is automatically updated to save you time and effort with a truly streamlined experience.

Industry-Leading Audit Protection

In the unlikely event that your business's 401(k) plan is audited, we've got your back. We pay 100% of the cost to represent you and guide you through the 401(k) plan audit process. Guidant clients have never paid IRS fines when following our industry-leading guidelines.

Why 401(K) Plan Administration?

A 401(k) Plan is Required for ROBS

As part of the process to use your retirement funds to launch your business with Rollovers for Business Start-ups (ROBS), we’ll help you set up a brand new 401(k) plan for your business. This plan will buy stock in your new business, which provides you the funding you need to get started.

401(k) Plans Need a Third-Party Administrator

To use your retirement funds to launch your small business or franchise, your brand new 401(k) plan buys stock in your business – providing you with the money you need to get started. We’ll work with you through the entire process, from start to finish. And we’ll keep helping you for the life of your business.

ROBS and 401(k) Plans Have Compliance Standards

It’s key that your business’s 401(k) plan stays compliant with state and federal regulations. That’s why we’re here. Our 401(k) plan services make sure you don’t have to worry – we’ll keep your 401(k) plan and ROBS safe, secure, and compliant.

Guidant’s 401(k) Plan Administration Services

We’re dedicated to making sure your 401(k) plan is always secure, safe, and compliant.

Annual 401(k) Plan Maintenance Process

Keeping in compliance with the IRS and DOL isn’t always easy. That’s why Guidant offers our Third-Party Plan Administration (TPA) services for your 401(k) plan. Our in-house experts handle the checks and balances that the IRS requires for you to access retirement funds tax and penalty-free. We’re equipped with the experience and industry knowledge to get your 401(k) plan right. 

Every year, the IRS and DOL require that your 401(k) plan is reviewed compliance and an IRS Form 5500 needs to be filed. With our 401(k) Plan Administration Services, we make sure you don’t have to worry about handling deadlines, reporting, or complicated paperwork by yourself.  

Using our fully digital Annual Maintenance Process, we’ll walk you through how to provide us with the business information we need to take care of reviewing, testing, and reporting on your 401(k) plan. We’ll use all that information to fill out the necessary forms and help you file with the IRS and DOL

Starting at $149 a month, here's what you can expect from Guidant:

Compliance Review

Our team of 401(k) plan compliance experts reviews the information in your Form 5500 and annual reporting to ensure accuracy. This is one more layer of protection and security built into our process to help our clients feel confident and secure.

Lifelong Business Support

We're invested in the life of your business. Our 401(k) plan services ensure that your ROBS funding continues to benefit you and your business long after the original rollover. We also offer robust integrations with other business services.

Time with Outside Counsel

We're the only ROBS firm that pays for you to spend time yearly with an independent ERISA tax attorney. This annual check-in gives you time to ask questions with an independent expert so you can feel safe with how you plan and grow your business.

Required Amendments

We'll help you establish what's called a "prototype" 401(k) plan, which lets you avoid personally establishing a plan with the IRS. We'll also provide ongoing updates to your plan, including plan restatements, which are required by the IRS.

Business Valuation

A business valuation is required as part of the annual 401(k) plan reporting to the IRS. But you don't have to find a third-party company and pay an additional fee for a business valuation. Instead, we have an in-house team of expert valuation analysts who will provide a valuation at no extra cost to you.

Full Audit Protection

While a 401(k) plan audit is rare, if it happens we've got your back. Guidant has the lowest audit rate in the industry thanks to our conservative approach and high standards, but if an audit occurs, we pay for legal representation throughout the entire process, which can save you thousands of dollars.

See Why We're the #1 ROBS Provider

Learn why over 25,000 small businesses have trusted Guidant to handle their Rollovers for Business Start-ups and 401(k) plan administration needs.

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401(k) Plan Administration Details

You don’t have to be an expert in 401(k) plan management. We’re here to make sure your 401(k) plan is safe, secure, and compliant as your trusted third-party administrator. Our services and support help you with both annual IRS and DOL requirements and when you need us.

401(K) Plan Administration Services

Includes all IRS and DOL-required 401(k) plan testing, preparation of IRS and DOL forms, and ongoing support ongoing services.

Starting at $149/Mo Base Price

Guidant 401(k) Plan Administration: FAQs

Do I need to have a 401(k) Plan Administrator?

Yes. All companies that have a 401(k) plan are required to have a plan administrator that is responsible for reviewing, testing, and reporting on your 401(k) plan. You aren’t required to hire Guidant as your Third-Party Administrator (TPA), but it’s important that your administrator is a ROBS expert, as the ROBS structure influences your business’s 401(k) plan.

Is Guidant my 401(k) Plan Administrator?

No. Legally, you’re the plan administrator of your business’s 401(k) plan. Guidant manages the compliance of your 401(k) plan as your Third-Party Plan Administrator (TPA). Though the two terms sound similar, it’s an important distinction because you’re ultimately responsible for your business’s 401(k) plan.

What is the Form 5500?

The IRS Form 5500 Series is part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) reporting and disclosure framework. It’s intended to ensure that employee benefits plans are operated and managed in accordance with prescribed standards. The Form 5500 also ensures that participants, beneficiaries, and regulators are provided with or have access to sufficient information to protect their rights and the benefits of participants and beneficiaries under the covered employee benefits plans. You have to file the Form 5500 annually.

Does Guidant manage my contributed 401(k) funds?

No. We set up your business’s 401(k) plan to facilitate the Qualified Employer Stock (QES) transaction that makes it possible for you to use ROBS to launch your small business or franchise. After that, we don’t touch any of the funds in your business’s 401(k) plan or any of the funds your employees contribute in the future. Investment Management firms like Charles Schwab, American Funds, and Fidelity generally handle managing your contributed 401(k) funds.

 

Do I have monthly responsibilities to Guidant?

No. The 401(k) plan maintenance process, which includes reviewing and testing your plan as well as preparing and filing your Form 5500, is an annual event. We bill monthly to help make costs easier to manage for the small business we serve instead of charging a lump sum each year. You only have to think about your 401(k) plan compliance once a year – and we’ll make sure you have all the information you need to be ready for the annual filing.

Do I need another 401(k) plan for my funds?

No. The 401(k) we create for you as part of your ROBS structure works for both Qualified Employer Stocks (QES) and to hold ongoing traditional investments. Your business’s new 401(k) plan is just like other 401(k) plans where you can work with an Investment Management firm to manage the funds you and your employees contribute to the plan.

Does Guidant Sign/File my Form 5500?

No. Legally, we’re not allowed to sign the Form 5500 for you. As the plan sponsor, the IRS and DOL require you to enter your digital signature and submit the Form 5500. However, we do all the work to prepare the Form 5500 for you, so all you need to do is sign and file. Your part of the Form 5500 filing process only takes about five to ten minutes.

What do I need to do other than file and sign the Form 5500?

Once a year, we’ll ask you for documents that we need to keep your 401(k) plan compliant. These documents can change slightly based on your business and 401(k) plan. There is some standard information we need. We’ll ask you for a Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss statement that covers your 401(k) plan year period, which are documents your CPA or tax software can easily generate. We’ll also need employee census information, which are basic details you already have for payroll and taxes, like your employees’ SSN, date of birth, date of hire, hours worked, 401(k) plan contributions, and gross salary. If you or your employees are contributing to your business’s 401(k) plan, we’ll also ask you for statements from your Investment Management provider.

Does Guidant help change my business's 401(k) plan for my and my employees' needs?

Yes. We know that as your business grows, your needs grow, too. If you want to change your plan’s matching program, amend the minimum required hours to participate, or elect for Safe Harbor or any other amendments, we’re here to help. It’s easy — just talk with one of our plan administration experts, and we’ll work through your options with you. We’ll put together the plan amendment documentation, and you’ll just need to provide your digital signature.

Does Guidant help me exit the plan if I decide to close my business?

Yes. If you decide to sell your business or exit the ROBS program, Guidant is here to support you. We can help you with the necessary steps to close out your plan and buy back the 401(k) plan’s shares. After that, we’ll help you file a final Form 5500, which tells the IRS that your business’s 401(k) plan and its assets have been closed out. After that, you’re fully exited and don’t need to do anything further when it comes to the 401(k) plan and ROBS.

Still Wondering if Guidant 401(k) Plan Administration Is Right for Your Business?

We’re here to answer your questions. As the industry experts, we’re ready to help you make the best choices for your business.

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