Rethinking Retirement: How Modern Plans Are Closing the Savings Gap

401(k) Financial Awareness Day reminds us just how important, and how often overlooked, retirement savings really are. Millions of American workers still don't have access to a workplace retirement plan. For some small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), the cost, regulatory requirements, fiduciary responsibilities and ongoing administration associated with a traditional 401(k) can make offering one more difficult.

The good news? Retirement benefits are being reimagined. New retirement options are giving businesses of every size more ways to offer retirement benefits. Two solutions making that possible are Icon's Portable Retirement Plan (PRP) and 401GO.

Icon PRP: A New Kind of Retirement Plan

Icon is modernizing retirement savings with the PRP, a workplace benefit that functions like a 401(k) but without the costs and complexities that have kept so many employers on the sidelines.

The PRP is fully managed and turnkey, with zero paperwork required from the employer. It integrates with isolved through a 360° application programming interface (API), so employee changes and contributions sync automatically with payroll. There's no fiduciary burden, plan audits or testing. It works for both W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, so it's flexible enough to support a wide range of workforces, including the growing number of businesses with mixed employee types.

For employers that have found traditional retirement plans out of reach, the PRP offers another way to provide a workplace retirement benefit simplifying administration and giving workers a way to save for retirement.

401GO: All-in-One Simplicity

401GO takes a similar approach with a 360° integration with isolved. Its proprietary technology automates plan setup, contributions and compliance, while transparent, participant-based pricing keeps plans affordable for SMBs. Plus, isolved members have easy access with the single sign-on functionality.

401GO serves as both the recordkeeper and third-party administrator (TPA), giving employers a single point of contact for administration and support. The integration creates a two-way data exchange: payroll data flows to 401GO each cycle, while plan updates like deferral changes, loan initiations and contribution adjustments flow back to payroll automatically. That can help keep records aligned, reduce manual data entry and limit opportunities for errors.

401GO also brings built-in financial wellness tools for employees, helping them save and better understand their options along the way.

Why This Matters Beyond 401(k) Awareness Day

401(k) Financial Awareness Day is a great reminder to pause and ask: what's standing between employees and a secure retirement? For many employers, cost, complexity and risk have made offering retirement benefits more challenging. Solutions like Icon's PRP and 401GO purpose-built SMB platform give employers additional ways to address some of those barriers.

Whether a small business is offering retirement benefits for the first time or a growing company wants to simplify an existing plan, employers have more options to consider than ever.

Learn more about Icon's Portable Retirement Plan and 401GO options in the isolved Marketplace.