Fidelity Investments and Paylocity announced today that seamless access to payroll capabilities is now available with the Fidelity Advantage 401k pooled employer plan (PEP).
This enhancement will reduce the administrative burden on small- and mid-sized businesses offering retirement plans for their employees and help workers start saving towards their retirement goals.
Fidelity Investments, the country’s largest 401k provider, created the Fidelity Advantage 401k plan, a pooled employer plan that allows multiple unrelated small- and mid-sized businesses to participate in a single 401k plan, to help make the retirement plan benefit accessible to more companies.
Employers are recognizing that pooled employer plans can be a cost-effective and efficient way to offer 401k benefits to their current employees, and to use as part of a broader benefits offering attract new workers.
Fidelity is teaming up with Paylocity, a leading provider of cloud-based HR and payroll software solutions, to help businesses further streamline two important aspects of their employee benefits administration.
The first is automated, two-way sharing of plan information between Fidelity and Paylocity, known in the industry as 360° integration. This allows for automatic contribution processing, which means employees can change contributions within Paylocity and the data seamlessly flows into Fidelity Advantage 401k. In addition, the solution eliminates the need to manually upload information each pay period, reducing the risk of errors and scrutiny over prompt salary deferral deposits.
“By offering Fidelity Advantage 401k clients an integrated payroll experience with Paylocity, Fidelity is helping small- and mid-sized businesses reduce costs and improve the efficiency of their employee benefits platform, while making it easier to help close the retirement gap and offer a 401k to their employees for the first time, including employees from traditionally underrepresented communities,” said Chris Houlihan, Head of Outsourcing Provider Partnerships at Fidelity Investments. “Providing payroll integration is the first step in a broader strategy for Fidelity’s Advantage 401k platform, and we will continue to seek opportunities to enhance our retirement products to meet the evolving needs of business owners.”
Vertx Partners, a business consulting firm based in Morgantown, W.V., and an early adopter of the Paylocity and Fidelity integration, has welcomed this opportunity to enhance its benefits offering for its employees. “We’re excited to be able to offer a 401k to our employees,” said Sean Frisbee, President of Vertx Partners. “With Fidelity and Paylocity, we didn’t have to become 401k experts. They simplified the options and the process, allowing us to spend more time doing what we do best—connecting small businesses and helping them find contract opportunities.”
Fidelity’s strategy aligns with Paylocity’s commitment to help businesses save time and resources and improve business outcomes by focusing on their employees. “This latest milestone in our collaboration with Fidelity to help companies deliver better benefits comes at a perfect time,” said Chris Westfall, Vice President, Head of Channels & Alliances for Paylocity. “Offering simple ways to help employees plan for retirement has become even more vital to attract and retain talent.”
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Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
