Vestwell announced today it has teamed up with Gusto, one of the largest payroll providers serving over 300,000 businesses, to implement a new 360-degree API-based integration that will support both 401(k) plans and state auto-IRA programs.
New York-based Vestwell currently powers more than 30,000 small businesses and one million savers.
“Payroll partnerships are an essential component in closing the savings gap across the country. Together with Gusto, we’re bringing a modern and user-friendly platform to the small businesses previously excluded from offering an affordable workplace savings program to their employees,” said Vestwell Founder and CEO Aaron Schumm. “The Vestwell and Gusto integration not only provides a flexible offering that can be delivered through advisors and TPAs, it also creates seamless integration across the rapidly expanding state IRA solutions.”
A 360-degree integration between a recordkeeper and payroll provider allows data to flow seamlessly, which provides small business owners a streamlined solution and saves them time (and money) to focus on running their businesses.
The enhanced integration is also now available to the 1,000+ Gusto customers who already use Vestwell for their company’s retirement plan.
A June 1 Vestwell blog post announcing the partnership notes that traditionally, small business owners manually upload their payroll files to their retirement plan provider and are responsible for tracking any changes that are made on the 401(k) platform by their employees. This process is time-consuming for employers and increases the risk of mistakes, the post said. An API-based integration removes these manual processes, as information is automatically transmitted between the payroll and retirement plan platforms.
The integration also increases support for off-cycle contributions and allows consistent timing for payroll processing.
The post went on to detail that for each pay period, Vestwell automatically receives key employee information from small businesses utilizing Gusto, including employee deductions, employer contributions, loan payments, and updated employee demographic information. For instance, when employees log into the Vestwell portal and make changes to their contribution rates, this data is automatically fed back to Gusto. This enhancement also gives employers the ability to access Vestwell directly through the Gusto portal.
Today’s Gusto announcement comes shortly after Vestwell announced a series of new expanded partnerships with J.P. Morgan, Commonwealth Financial Network, Cambridge, and other firms within the advisory and fintech space as part of efforts to expand in the savings industry through new key financial services collaborations and payroll integrations.
SEE ALSO:
• Vestwell Announces J.P. Morgan Partnership Among New Collaborations
• Vestwell Rolls Out ‘Significant Upgrades’ to Recordkeeping Platform
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.