Closing the retirement savings gap across america

Within ten months of launching the Guideline retirement platform, we’ve surpassed $100 million in assets under management (AUM) and now work with more than 1,500 small and mid-sized businesses across state lines and industries. Plus, over 80% of our clients are offering a 401(k) for the first time.

This is what really matters to us: democratizing access to retirement savings. 55 million Americans currently lack a way to save for retirement through their workplaces, causing a savings gap of over $28 trillion that is growing by $3 trillion a year.

It’s time for change — starting with small and mid-sized businesses, where more than half of employees lack a 401(k) or pension. It’s time to close the savings gap and fight the major social infrastructure failure that exacerbates it. At Guideline, we’re committed to that fight.

For too long, the 401(k) industry has relied on AUM as its almighty metric. Since most providers are compensated by a percentage of total money in each retirement plan, they focus on clients with large, existing retirement assets and either refuse to take on new clients under a certain size or charge them prohibitively high fees. The result? Small and mid-sized businesses are left in the cold without an easy way to offer meaningful retirement benefits.

To broaden access to real savings, Guideline is rethinking AUM and traditional industry models. Unlike most retirement providers, we are not compensated by account balances. We take a fundamentally different approach to financial readiness with our flat fee structure and elimination of AUM fees to offer the most employee-focused 401(k).

We’re thrilled by the excitement and adoption we have seen so far, but this is only the beginning. In the next ten months, ten years, and beyond, we’re on track to help tens of thousands more businesses give their workers a clearer path to retirement. We hope you’ll join us in the fight to change U.S. retirement for the better.