2023 Year in review
Savers
3 min read•

2023: A year in review

Kevin Busque Profile
Kevin Busque
CEO and Founder of Guideline

2023 was a landmark year for Guideline. We reached 47,000+ plans signed and our assets under management reached nearly $12 billion, with our savers contributing close to $3 billion to their retirement savings this year alone. We strengthened our commitment to making retirement more accessible with a series of launches, including the first Starter 401(k) plan to market and a mobile app that makes it easy to manage your 401(k) directly from your phone.

We're looking forward to continued growth as we head into 2024. But first, let's take a look back on our highlights from 2023:

Our 2023 year in review

Our assets under management reached new heights, nearly $12 billion. And we surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue.

Our team celebrated National 401(k) Day with Nasdaq in New York City. We ranked top 3 recordkeepers for new plans added by PLANSPONSOR. Our team of innovators, collaborators, and problem solvers is 350+ strong.

Our customers and their 401(k) plans

Over 14,000 businesses started a Guideline 401(k) this year, bringing our total to over 47,000.

Who we support

We're proud to help a diverse range of businesses offer 401(k) plans. From lawyers to landscapers, here's a snapshot of the community we support in making retirement a reality:

2,173 software publishers, 1,560 law offices, 30 art dealers, 50 florists, 528 beauty salons, 1,062 mental health practitioners, 1,154 restaurants, 70 jewelry stores, 617 insurance agencies, 471 electricians, 483 day care centers, 16 meat markets, etc.

91% of customers offered a 401(k) for the first time. 84% of eligible employees participated in their 401(k). 78% of employers offered a match. 72% of participants meet or exceed the match. Traditional safe harbor makes up 73% of new plans in 2023.

Over the past four years, our customers were able to access over $100 million in potential new plan tax credits through the SECURE Act.

"My experience with Guideline has been frictionless. All of my employees are happy and so am I."

Jonna M., Principal, Affogato HR Consulting

Client of Guideline. Views may not be representative of other clients.

Our savers and their contributions

Participants saved nearly $3 billion for retirement in 2023 alone. We've helped nearly 1 million people save for retirement since 2016. Avg contribution rate is 6.5%. Avg participant age is 38.

"When we opened up a 401(k), it got a huge response from our team. Everyone enrolled immediately. I'm surprised more of our competitors don't offer one."

Jeri A., Owner, Rose City Philanthropy

Client of Guideline. Views may not be representative of other clients.

Strengthening our commitment to accessible retirement

Since the beginning of our journey, it’s been our mission to help everyone arrive at a secure retirement. Yes, everyone. This year, we doubled down on this commitment, making retirement even more accessible for both businesses and savers. Here’s how:

We launched Starter, a basic 401(k) to encourage more employers to offer retirement benefits. In December 2022, Congress established the Starter 401(k), designed for smaller businesses looking to offer their first retirement plan.

Launched a Starter plan within just 10mo of legislation being passed, the 1st. Starter plans could give 401(k) access to more than 19m Americans. 600+ businesses opened a Starter 401(k) in the 1st 3mo across 41 states, 326 zip codes, and 117 industries.

"As a smaller, woman-owned risk management consulting firm, we want to leverage every competitive edge possible in our employee recruiting and retention efforts. To say we offer a 401(k) program with matching means we can compete with and exceed the benefits offered by our peers."

Carol P., CEO, RedKnot Resource Group

Client of Guideline. Views may not be representative of other clients.

We made our 401(k) plans more flexible for businesses of all sizes with Enterprise. This year we also launched Enterprise, our most custom plan, designed to better support growing companies and teams that may have more complex business needs.

2,500+ Enterprise plans since launch. We introduced Participant Perks, special offers on financial tools and services exclusive to Enterprise customers. All Enterprise plans have dedicated and responsive support, with an average 4 hour response rate.

"Having a dedicated relationship manager with Guideline is huge. She’s always quick to respond and explain things in simplified terms — she’s my safety net."

Tina F., Office Manager, Smith Trucking

Client of Guideline. Views may not be representative of other clients.

With our new mobile app, you can access your 401(k) anytime, anywhere. Update your contribution, change your portfolio, monitor your progress, and check your balance. 50k+ downloads, 4.5+ iOS app store rating, and featured on CNBC's Closing Bell: Overtime

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  • Figures are approximate values based on internal data collected as of December 31, 2023. This information is provided for educational and illustrative purposes only.
  • ² The calculation is a simplified representation of possible tax credits that may have been available to employers who established new 401(k) plans at Guideline effective in or after 2020. The actual savings realized may be higher or lower as this is a hypothetical and based on the assumption that all 40,000 + newly established plans were eligible to claim at least the minimum allowed under the new plan and auto-enrollment credits. Business owners of Guideline plans do not provide their tax credit eligibility information to Guideline. Learn more.
  • ³ Please go to our Pricing Page for information on our plan tiers. See our Form ADV 2A Brochure for more information regarding fees.
  • ⁴ Source: ASPPA Closing the Opportunity Gap February 13, 2023

  • ⁵ App store rating is as of 12/31/2023 and is based upon all ratings and reviews received by Apple App Store® since the Guideline app was launched June 26, 2023. Current rating can be found on Guideline's App Store and is subject to change. App Store rating is calculated and generated by Apple based on the average of all total app reviews. Count of total ratings and reviews reflects the combined total of App Store rating and Google Play store ratings. No compensation was exchanged for reviews or ratings. Rating may not be representative of the Guideline client experience, advisory services, or investment performance. For more information go to Guideline on the App Store.

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