Kelly Chambers

The financial advisor’s guide to offering retirement plans [with planning checklist] Jan 26, 2026 2:20:58 PM Offering 401(k)s is no longer a niche service for financial advisors—it’s a powerful strategy for practice growth and retention. See how to get started. In this guide, we introduce topics such as: How large is the retirement plan market opportunity for advisors? What are the benefits for financial advisors who offer retirement plans? What are common roadblocks for financial advisors looking to offer retirement plans? How can advisors get started offering and managing 401(k) plans (with planning checklist)? What are the 5 key attributes to look for in a 401(k) platform partner? How large is the retirement plan market opportunity for advisors? Retirement plans have become a critical, expected part of modern financial planning. As business owners face state mandates and look for competitive benefits, clients increasingly expect their advisor to have a comprehensive solution for workplace retirement. If you don't currently offer 401(k) plans, you may be missing a significant opportunity: wealth clients could look elsewhere, and potential business-owner clients may go to competitors who can provide integrated retirement solutions. The market growth for this service is undeniable. Cerulli Associates expects there will be more than one million 401(k) plans by the end of the decade—an increase of 36% from 2025 to 2029. And advisors are giving business away if they don’t offer a retirement plan. 57% of defined contribution recordkeepers report that the majority of their plans are sold through advisors, according to the Cerulli report. Now is the time to ensure you have a retirement solution and a partner that can help you capture this growth. What are the benefits for financial advisors who offer retirement plans? Offering 401(k)s is no longer a niche service—it’s a powerful strategy for practice growth and retention. New revenue and retention: Retirement plans create a stable, recurring revenue stream. They also help retain wealth clients by ensuring they don’t look to competitors who offer a complete suite of services. Cross-selling opportunities: Plan participants are a natural source of future wealth clients. By managing both the plan and individuals’ portfolios, you create deeper, stickier, and more valuable relationships. Meeting client demand and state mandates: The adoption of 401(k)s, especially by small businesses, is rising (driven partly by the SECURE Act and state mandates). Offering these solutions solidifies your position as a holistic financial partner. Better client service: High-net-worth business owners often prefer consolidating all their finances under one trusted advisor. Referring these plans out to other providers limits your growth and can erode the overall trust in your relationship. Down-market growth: Small and mid-sized businesses are often underserved. Advisors who enter this space with an efficient 401(k) plan partner are poised for scalable growth. What are common roadblocks for financial advisors looking to offer retirement plans? Many advisors hesitate to enter the retirement space due to past challenges or intimidation. The good news? Modern, technology-forward platforms like Betterment have solved most significant pain points. What are the steps to set up a retirement plan for your firm? Starting can be intimidating, but we’re here to help. Use the checklists below for each of the three steps to launch a 401(k) offering at your firm. Step 1: Get familiar with plan basics Before you offer a retirement plan, take the time to learn about plan types, how they work, and your role. Checklist: Plan components: Learn the key components of a 401(k) plan, including plan design (eligibility, match, vesting), investment options, recordkeeping, administration, and compliance. Types of plans: Know the differences between plan types like safe harbor plans, Simple 401(k)s, and traditional and Roth 401(k)s. The role of TPAs: Explore your options for third-party administrators (TPAs) and understand the pros and cons of bundled vs. unbundled when it comes to handling plan administration and investments. (Note: At Betterment, we’re flexible and can work bundled or unbundled.) Your role: Understand your role as an advisor vs. a plan fiduciary. In many cases, you can offload fiduciary and administrative responsibilities to your platform partner (such as Betterment), reducing your liability and workload. Step 2: Choose the right partner Choosing your plan provider and tech platform might be the most important decision you make. Take the time to reflect on the following areas. Checklist: Turnkey platform: Select a provider and tech platform that simplifies the process by handling recordkeeping, compliance testing, and Form 5500 filings. Digital onboarding: Onboarding should be paperless, fast, and intuitive. You want your clients to have a seamless experience that differentiates you from legacy providers. Trustworthy business partner: Ensure the partner won’t compete for your client relationships, which is important for trust and long-term growth of your offering. Employee engagement: By incorporating built-in participant education and a modern digital experience, you can increase adoption and directly reduce the education burden on your team. Scalable and competitive: The technology and process that your partner brings to the table should be designed for efficiency and automation, making it profitable even for smaller firms. Step 3: Prospect and position Once you select your partner, it’s time to grow your business. Checklist: Prospecting process: Start with your own book. Ask existing wealth clients if their businesses offer retirement plans, or if they are considering one. Sales language: Make it easy for prospects to see the value you offer. Use simple positioning language like: “We offer a turnkey 401(k) solution designed for small businesses that takes the administrative burden off your plate.” Marketing materials: Leverage marketing resources or one-pagers from your platform partner to help explain the value to business owners. Bonus tips: How to market to clients who own businesses With a sea of legacy retirement plan providers in the market, you have an opportunity to differentiate on ease and support. Use these three tips to clearly communicate your value and help clients understand the pain point you solve for them. Highlight turnkey administration: Emphasize that providers like Betterment handle compliance, testing, and filings—removing traditional headaches. Showcase digital onboarding: Make it clear that plans can be launched quickly without stacks of paperwork. Address prior pain points directly: Acknowledge that legacy TPAs and recordkeepers have caused frustration, and explain how your model solves those issues. Retirement is no longer an optional add-on for advisors who want to future-proof and scale their practice. Choosing the right partner can make offering a 401(k) plan a profitable and client-centric way to drive growth. Ready to start or reconsider your retirement offering? Contact a Betterment Advisor Solutions representative today to see a quick demo of our turnkey platform.

The solo 401(k): An overlooked tool for your high-income clients Nov 10, 2025 1:49:08 PM Solo 401(k)s can create new planning opportunities for advisors. Key takeaways: Solo 401(k)s aren’t just for freelancers—many of your high-income clients may qualify. Your clients can save up to $70,000 (or more with catch-ups). Help your clients combine pre-tax and Roth strategies for flexible tax planning. Identifying side income helps deepen client relationships and provide holistic financial planning. Betterment makes Solo 401(k)s simple with 100% digital setup and funding. When you think of a solo 401(k), you might picture a full-time freelancer or sole proprietor. But the reality is much broader… If your high-income clients with full-time jobs (doctors, attorneys, executives, etc) also have self-employment income, a solo 401(k) can offer powerful financial planning opportunities. For financial advisors, this opens the door to serve a wider range of clients using solo 401(k)s—from a corporate VP who consults on the side, to a physician with hourly contract income, to a creative executive with a side LLC for freelance work. Solo 401(k) value for clients: High contribution limits and tax flexibility A solo 401(k) allows both employee and employer contributions, resulting in higher total limits than traditional IRAs or even many workplace 401(k)s. For 2025, contribution limits for eligible participants are: Employee contribution: Up to $23,500, and if your client is over 50, they can make "catch-up" contributions of up to $7,500 for ages 50-59 and over age 64, and “super-catch-up” contributions of up to $11,250 for ages 60-63. Employer contribution: As the business owner, your client can contribute up to 25% of their net self-employment income (20% for sole proprietors and partnerships). Advisors can guide clients in using a solo 401(k) along with other retirement plans to: Lower taxable income for the current year using a traditional solo 401(k) Build long-term tax diversification through a Roth solo 401(k) Or combine both approaches based on each year’s tax outlook This flexibility makes the solo 401(k) particularly appealing for high earners who’ve already maxed out other retirement vehicles. Solo 401(k) value for advisors: Deeper relationships with high-income clients As a financial advisor, identifying clients with self-employment or side-business income can create deeper, long-term client-advisor relationships. And offering a solo-401(k) is a natural opportunity to ask if a client has side income. By introducing a solo 401(k) , advisors can: Show clients that you offer proactive planning solutions Differentiate your practice by uncovering overlooked retirement opportunities Demonstrate your ability to coordinate tax and investment strategies If a client is interested, you are in a position to guide them through determining eligibility, selecting contribution levels, and coordinating with tax professionals to help them get the most from their solo 401(k). What about enrollment? Betterment has you covered Setting up a solo 401(k) requires some administrative steps—such as adopting a plan document, establishing a trust account, and filing Form 5500-EZ once plan assets exceed $250,000. However, these requirements are straightforward with the right support. Betterment’s advisor platform helps streamline solo 401(k) account setup and administration, providing you an all-digital solo 401(k) designed to help you deliver exceptional value to your self-employed clients. Digital account opening: Skip the hassle with fully digital account creation, including e-signature on plan adoption agreements. Your clients can set up or convert an existing plan quickly, with zero fees for plan establishment. Digital contributions: Fund in-platform—no more mailing in checks. We accommodate ACH and internal transfers for employee and employer contributions, and contributions are automatically tracked to simplify tax season. Plus, new accounts can enjoy up to a $1,500 tax credit over three years with auto-enrollment. Roth and traditional tax strategies: Offer both Roth and traditional contribution options, giving your clients the flexibility to choose tax-free growth or immediate tax savings—whichever approach is best for their retirement. See how to offer Betterment’s solo 401(k) to your clients today.

The convergence of wealth & retirement: A $40 trillion market for advisors Jul 2, 2025 9:00:00 AM See how integrating wealth management and retirement planning can help your firm tap into a $40 trillion market opportunity. If you’re looking to grow your wealth management firm’s client base, serving retirement plan participants might just be the key to unlocking greater growth potential. The opportunity by the numbers: According to the most recent Betterment Retirement Readiness Report, 79% of employees say their employer offers a 401(k) plan. Valued at $40 trillion, retirement assets are 32% of all U.S. household financial assets, according to the ICI. The National Association of Plan Advisors reported that 74% of 401(k) participants would welcome professional help managing their accounts. The opportunity is clear for growth-minded advisors: A multi-trillion-dollar market of consumers is actively seeking professional financial guidance. In this article, we explore this growth opportunity along with how to overcome the challenges that come with it. Key benefits for advisors: Integrating wealth management and retirement planning The convergence of wealth management and retirement planning offers two benefits. Benefit 1: Use retirement planning as a growth engine for your firm Many plan participants are eager to work with financial advisors. According to a 2024 study by American Century Investments, over half use a financial advisor, and among those who don’t, 39% plan to do so in the future. At Betterment, we found in our Retirement Readiness Report that 21% would consider switching jobs to one that offers access to a live financial advisor. Engaging with retirement plan participants can be a powerful way for advisors to expand their client base. A 2024 Capital Group study found that high-growth wealth managers were: More likely to have 25% or more of their AUM in defined contribution plans 23% more likely to have a strategy for transitioning plan participants into prospects for their practice. Additionally, the study found that advisors can uncover a $1 million prospect for every 10 meetings they have with participants in medium to large plans. If you’re not already serving retirement plans, restructuring your firm to do so can be a gateway to growth. Plan participants have complex financial lives, and many will welcome advice on how to manage their overall wealth. Benefit 2: Manage clients’ full financial picture On the wealth management side of your business, clients look for holistic advice. Their retirement nest egg is part of their wealth, after all. Your current wealth management clients likely have sizable assets in their retirement plans and could benefit from your advice on portfolio allocation and management. Whether they’re switching jobs, starting a business, or reallocating funds, you can help them make informed decisions across their entire financial life. Vanguard’s “How America Saves 2025” report found that average plan participant account balances increased by 10% in 2024, reaching an all-time high of $148,153. CNBC reported that about two-thirds of rollover investors hold cash unintentionally because the funds are initially placed in a cash account. You have the opportunity to position your firm as a one-stop resource for financial wellness, retaining clients by helping them manage their entire financial life. How to overcome the challenges of managing wealth and retirement clients Serving wealth and retirement plans usually requires restructuring your firm. Below are three potential obstacles and how our team at Betterment can help you overcome them. Challenge 1: Provide holistic financial planning at scale The challenge: Serving multiple retirement plans simultaneously, each with dozens or even hundreds of participants, can make retirement planning at scale overwhelming for your firm without the right platform. How Betterment helps: Receive dedicated support from day one to streamline plan management—so you can focus on growing your business. A Senior 401(k) Onboarding Associate will be your dedicated point of contact to help you onboard new clients and offer ongoing support. You’ll also be assigned a 401(k) Client Success Manager, who will be your go-to contact for any questions, along with helping you set goals, manage plan changes, navigate Form 5500 filings, and create tailored education for plan participants. Challenge 2: Staying on top of regulatory compliance The challenge: Staying compliant takes work—and plenty of time. You’ll not only need to stay on top of legislative and regulatory changes related to retirement plans, but also your firm’s compliance and legal policies. How Betterment helps: We are your 3(16) administrator, handling compliance testing, taking on time-intensive work, and preparing audit packages and 5500s. We have a team of compliance experts with ASPPA, NAPA, and IRS designations, plus 50+ years of combined compliance experience. Challenge 3: Managing technologies to serve retirement plans The challenge: Serving retirement plans will require your firm to adopt new technologies to automate planning, compliance, and communications at scale. Trying to piece a tech stack together by yourself can take your valuable time away from serving clients. How Betterment helps: Our all-in-one dashboard helps you track plan metrics, generate custom reports, and get participant-level data with just a few clicks. Use our tools and technology to easily convert participants to new clients, building relationships to offer holistic financial planning to meet their evolving needs. Plus, for self-employed clients, we offer a streamlined, all-digital solo 401(k). And our mobile app lets your clients see their full financial picture on the go, branded with your firm’s logo, reinforcing your value between meetings. Grow your firm with a 401(k) solution built for advisors An easy-to-use platform with customizable investment options and white glove support for you and your clients. Flexible, customizable plan design and investment options Dedicated advisor and client support for administrative needs An all-in-one platform to service clients across retirement and wealth

How to build high-net worth client relationships with an SBLOC Apr 22, 2025 10:00:00 AM Learn 5 benefits of offering an SBLOC for your firm, and how clients can leverage this modern borrowing tool to keep their investments working for them. Securities-Backed-Lines of Credit (SBLOCs) are offered by The Bancorp to Betterment clients. Betterment is not a bank. See more below. High-net worth clients often face the problem of needing liquidity, but not wanting to compromise their long-term portfolios and interrupt their wealth management plans. You can provide the solution to this problem. Offering an SBLOC allows your firm to meet clients’ liquidity needs. 5 benefits of offering an SBLOC for your firm Incorporating SBLOCs into your advisory practice shows your commitment to providing innovative and client-centric financial solutions. Many prospective or current clients may not be aware of what an SBLOC is, allowing your firm to leverage its benefits to: Attract high-net worth clients: Use the SBLOC in your marketing materials and in conversations with prospective clients. The flexibility to borrow against a portfolio without disrupting investment gains can be a strong selling point to high-net worth clients. Deepen client trust and increase retention: As you learn about your client’s financial and life goals, you can offer the SBLOC as part of financial planning conversations. Because of its flexibility, an SBLOC is a powerful planning tool that can be used to benefit a client in many situations (more on that below). Retain investment strategies: By providing liquidity without requiring your clients to sell their investments, an SBLOC allows your firm to stick to long-term strategies. This means you can maintain asset allocation for clients, ultimately helping you preserve their portfolios. Add debt management and liquidity into your planning: With an SBLOC, you can proactively help clients incorporate debt into their financial planning. But an SBLOC also gives clients immediate access to funds when unexpected opportunities or needs arise. The ability to use an SBLOC proactively or reactively adds an extra layer of flexibility to your overall wealth management planning tools. Manage both sides of a client’s balance sheet: Offering an SBLOC enables you to address both the asset and liability sides of a client’s financial picture. While clients continue growing their investment portfolios, the SBLOC provides a structured way to manage liabilities, creating a more holistic and balanced financial strategy. Common ways clients use an SBLOC Although not for purchasing securities, clients can use an SBLOC for many purposes—it’s really based on their needs and goals. Here are several practical use cases that you can share with clients: Purchase or renovate a home Clients looking to invest in real estate might not want to disturb their investment portfolios. An SBLOC can provide the funds needed for a down payment or for home renovations, allowing clients to secure or enhance a property while keeping their portfolio intact. It can also serve as a smart bridge loan for buyers, purchasing a new home while their current one is still on the market. Pay inheritance, estate, or income taxes Large tax bills from inheritance, estate planning, or income taxes can strain liquidity. With an SBLOC, clients can cover these obligations without the need to liquidate investments at inopportune times, preserving both their tax strategy and long-term growth potential. Finance business expenses Entrepreneurs and business owners often require flexible financing to cover operational expenses, expansion initiatives, or unforeseen costs. An SBLOC offers a non-disruptive way to access capital, letting them invest in their business while maintaining their personal portfolio strategy. Pay college tuition For clients planning for higher education, an SBLOC can help cover college tuition and related expenses. This solution provides immediate funds, enabling clients to meet educational needs without having to sell investments that could be yielding returns over time. Manage medical bills Unexpected medical expenses can be financially straining. An SBLOC offers a ready source of liquidity to manage high medical bills, ensuring clients can address their healthcare needs promptly while continuing to benefit from a long-term investment portfolio. Pay for a wedding Weddings can be one of life’s most memorable—and costly—events. Instead of disrupting their investment strategy, clients can use an SBLOC to cover wedding expenses, enjoying their big day without sacrificing future financial growth. The Betterment SBLOC process Betterment Advisor Solutions, in partnership with The Bancorp, has streamlined the SBLOC process to ensure a swift and efficient experience for both advisors and clients. Automated application: Clients benefit from a simple, automated application process that can be completed quickly, ensuring access to liquidity when needed. Collateral pledge: Eligible securities held in Betterment taxable legal accounts—including individual, joint, and trust accounts—are pledged as collateral. This protects the client’s portfolio while securing the credit line. Establishing the credit line: The Bancorp assesses the portfolio’s value to determine the credit line. Typically, clients can borrow between 50% and 95%* of the value of their pledged assets, depending on the nature and stability of the investments. Accessing and repaying funds: Once established, the credit line is available for draws as needed. Clients pay only interest on the outstanding balance each month, with the flexibility to repay the principal at any time. Interest rates are variable, tied to the WSJ Prime Rate plus a margin, keeping the financing competitive. Maintaining collateral value: In the event that the value of the pledged securities falls below a required threshold, a maintenance call is issued. This may require a reallocation of the portfolio to obtain higher borrowing power, the deposit of additional funds or securities, or partial repayment of the loan, to ensure the collateral remains sufficient.

See How Top Independent RIAs Embrace Tech in an Ever-Changing Market Sep 12, 2024 9:00:00 AM In the first installment of our Betterment Advisor Solutions Survey, we asked 500 growing independent advisors with AUM of $10-$250 million, to tell us how they’re harnessing technology to better serve clients—and to scale. The big takeaways? The RIA’s tech stack is evolving to better meet their needs, and the adoption of AI is way ahead of schedule. Other trends that surfaced include: The evolution of the Millennial advisor How tech and AI fuels the fastest-growing advisors A rise in retirement planning Keep reading or download the survey now to dig into the top trends, expert analysis, and insights on how to grow your business today. What inspires financial advisors to break out on their own in the first place? While accessing better technology and maximizing earning potential both ranked highly, the primary reasons RIAs chose to go independent was for more freedom and flexibility. This suggests that today’s RIAs value the ability to make their own decisions, customize their investment strategies to suit their clients’ needs, and have more control over business operations without being constrained by a larger firm. Let’s see how they’ve gotten on… Navigating a shifting landscape As you might expect, advisors’ assets under management have grown this year, with more than 40% of them increasing AUM by 10% to 24%. Impressively, 36% of financial advisors experienced growth of 25% or more—with 14% seeing growth of 50% or more! What advisors look for in a custodian The custodial platform is at the core of an RIA’s tech stack. Digital account onboarding, risk analysis, and CRM all rank as at least somewhat important to daily operations. Notably, billing (52%), financial planning software (51%), and performance reporting software (51%) emerged as the top three essential tools, highlighting their critical role in maintaining efficient and effective business operations. All of which underscores the crucial role technology plays for independent RIAs. By offloading some admin tasks and streamlining processes, financial advisors can deliver more value to clients through increased one-on-one time and more personalized advice and financial planning. When asked what would they do with more time, these were the top five responses: 43% investment management and financial planning 43% serving and meeting with current clients 42% professional development 40% meeting with prospective clients 39% marketing my business “Independent advisors have very little time to do anything other than financial planning and communicating with clients. That’s especially troublesome to hear when we know independent advisors are seeking better work-life balance, but they likely have very little time outside of work, not to mention all of the other tasks they may have to take on as an independent advisor like marketing or HR administration.” —Devon Klumb Head of Sales at Betterment Advisor Solutions Financial advisors who are unable to harness the full power of technology and automation may find themselves spending more time on the nitty-gritty details of running a business, instead of focusing on high-value tasks that truly drive growth. The rise of AI Despite numerous hot takes on the takeover of AI, we found that independent advisors are embracing—and integrating—the technology into their business practices. Four out of five advisors surveyed are using AI at their firms today, and of the 20% who aren’t yet, nearly two-thirds say they have plans to integrate AI at their firms in the future. Interestingly, financial advisors who experienced the most growth (25% or more growth in the last year), are also the most likely to be using AI. This shows that advisors understand the benefit of offloading admin tasks in order to devote more time to clients. The biggest deterrent? Poor customer service and training were said to be the main factories preventing advisors from weaving more tech into their practices. “There has been so much discourse around how artificial intelligence could put advisors out of jobs, but we prefer to think that advisors who learn to use AI at their practice will be that much more powerful and future-proofed.” —John Mileham CTO of Betterment Learn more in our latest Betterment Advisor Solutions Survey.