Tables
Custom Table: 4 Columns
Key Characteristics
Traditional 401(k) Plans
Single employers or groups of related employers
Plan sponsor
Plan sponsor (can hire a third party)
Fully customizable
Filed by employer
MEPs
Unrelated employers with sufficient commonality
MEP sponsor
MEP sponsor or lead employer
Customizable for adopting employers
Filed by lead employer
PEPs
Unrelated employers
Pooled Plan Provider (PPP)
PPP
Some customization available depending on PPP and plan size
Filed by PPP
Custom Table: 3 Columns
SEP IRA
Sole proprietorships and businesses with few employees
Any employer may establish
Must include employees who are at least age 21, have worked for your business at least three of the last five years, and earned at least $750 in compensation in 2025
Generally, not allowed
Flexible; limited annually to the lesser of $70,000 for 2025 or 25% of compensation. Employers don’t have to contribute every year, but when they do, they must contribute to all participants who performed services during the year for which the contributions are made.
SIMPLE IRA
Businesses with up to 100 employees
Any employer that has less than 100 employees and does not maintain another retirement plan may establish
Must include employees earning at least $5,000 in the current year and any two preceding years
Up to $16,500 in 2025
Mandatory contributions; either matching up to 3% of compensation or 2% nonelective for each eligible employee
Custom Table: 3 Columns
For You
A holistic view of your Ascensus business
To manage the investments in your plans digitally
Digital experience provides everything you need to educate and communicate to clients and prospects and build your professional brand.
Provides you with an enhanced service model, product offering, and consultative approach to grow your business.
For Plan Sponsors
Including how they establish the plan, the way they fund the plan, to the way they manage their annual plan requirements
Clients give us north of 4 on a 5-point scale when measuring how easy it was to accomplish what was needed.
Support for all required annual testing and reporting with upwards of 90% of plans run straight through process of compliance engine
Digital and fully integrated onboarding experience that guides the user through the onboarding process with full transparency and real time progress alerts along the way.
For Participants
Join the plan in a few clicks
Tools to help optimize savings behavior including those that will stop a saver from making bad decisions
Solution to help meet savers where they are with their broader financial questions or concerns
Streamlined mobile app enrollment experience Enhanced dashboard for participants to manage the plan Guided digital experience for loans and distributions including the ability to receive proceeds via ACH.
Custom Table: 2 Columns
Benefits for employers
Minimize fiduciary exposure with integrated support from a 402(a) named fiduciary, 3(16) administrative fiduciary, and 3(38) investment fiduciary.
Simplify operations with integrated trust, custody, and payroll services.
Deliver a comprehensive solution with digital plan access and nonqualified plan integration.
Benefits for employees
Access an intuitive website and responsive call center support.
Navigate resources with bilingual support and a Spanish-language website.
Engage with participant education, financial wellness tools, and integrated managed account services.