A rewarding 401(k) for you and your clients
Unlock value for your firm and clients
With Guideline Pro, you can earn rewards for your firm and pass along discounts to clients. As you add more clients, you can unlock more value for everyone.
For your firm
You can earn $100-$200 for each new 401(k), as long as you aren’t a fiduciary on the plan. Rewards are doubled for eligible plans with 50+ employees.
For your clients
We’ll waive employer fees for 4-6 months, for each new client. We’ll even waive employer fees for 6 months for your firm’s own Guideline 401(k) plan.
When a client signs up for a Guideline 401(k) via your invitation, they’ll be connected to your Guideline Pro account. By adding more clients, you can obtain higher tier status and earn more rewards and discounts.
Preferred Tier | 1-2 clients
Premier Tier | 3-14 clients
Elite Tier | 15+ clients
Referral rewards are doubled for eligible plans with 50+ employees, applicable to all tiers.
Your firm can only earn referral rewards for newly added plans that were invited after you’ve joined the program by signing the Solicitation Agreement located in Firm Settings.
Yes, you can choose to waive some or all referral rewards for new signed plans while still offering the discount to your clients. Referral rewards are an additional benefit to the exclusive year-round discounts you can offer your clients, courtesy of Guideline Pro.
Yes, all clients with an active Guideline plan will be counted towards your Guideline Pro tier status.
A new Guideline 401(k) plan invited through your dashboard, provided that you do not act as a fiduciary for the plan, is eligible for referral payment. A new plan is defined as a start up 401(k) plan, and does not apply to a pre-existing 401(k) plan transferring to Guideline.
After you join the program by signing the Solicitation Agreement, you’ll be able to start inviting clients through your dashboard after letting us know if you act as a fiduciary on that client’s plan. If you don’t act as a fiduciary to the invited client, and the client goes on to sign up the plan and connect their bank account and payroll information to Guideline, your firm will earn a reward for that referral. The specifics are outlined in the Solicitation Agreement you’ll need to sign before being eligible for referral payments.
As a registered investment adviser with the SEC, Guideline is required to have a Solicitation Agreement with partners who receive referral payments under SEC Rule 206(4)-1(b).
Yes. As a registered investment adviser with the SEC, Guideline is required to provide solicitation disclosures to prospects and clients per SEC Rule 206(4)-1(b).
In order for us to compensate you, we need you to connect your firm’s bank account and complete the IRS Form W-9 in your Firm Settings in your account. Your firm will be paid through ACH in a single batch payment each month for the rewards earned in the month prior. If your firm has earned rewards but has not yet connected a bank account or completed the IRS Form W-9 info, any earned rewards will be disbursed after you provide this information.
At this time, the Referral Rewards program will only support payments to your firm.
A ”fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) typically is someone who provides advisory, investment consulting, financial advice, and/or other plan decision services. Administrative functions such as accounting or recordkeeping are not typically considered fiduciary functions. Please consult with your legal counsel as necessary to make this determination.
Under ERISA, plan fiduciaries are not permitted to benefit financially from their relationship with a plan. This is considered self-dealing and a prohibited transaction.
You can only earn referral fees on plans for which your firm does not act as a fiduciary, an attestation you can make on a plan-by-plan basis. Acting as a fiduciary on some plans will not prevent you from being able to earn referral fees on other plans for which you do not act as a fiduciary. Additionally, the plans for which you do act as a fiduciary will still be eligible to receive the client discount.
When you invite plans from your dashboard, it will allow us to confirm you don’t act as a fiduciary on the plan being invited.
The discount only applies to new plans added through your Guideline Pro dashboard.
The discount will start with your client’s first invoice.
Yes, as a valued Guideline Pro, we’ll waive your firm’s employer fees for the next 6 months.