Setting up a 401(k) is typically a cumbersome process that involves filling out a lot of paperwork. It also requires you to make some important decisions regarding your financial future, like how much you need to contribute in order to achieve your retirement goals. You may also have to select the type of 401(k) you invest in and how to distribute your contributions. Unless you keep a close eye on the markets, you may not feel very confident in the process or your decision.
Making changes to your 401(k), including tapping into your funds in case of emergency, is equally difficult. Not only does it come with a fee and penalty, but it also requires more paperwork and can take a week or more to receive your funds. You face a similar situation if you want to get a loan against your 401(k).
As you can see, just about everything about managing your 401(k) is tedious or complicated, which is why we set our development team to work. The goal – simplify and bring additional value to the 401(k) process. The result was the creation of a revolutionary new way to set up and manage 401(k)s.
Introducing the 401(k) Dashboard
Our new 401(k) dashboard changes everything traditionally considered standard in terms of setting up and managing a 401(k) account. Here are some of the new features our clients and their employees can now take advantage of:
Complete visibility: You can access your balance and growth information, including year to date changes, from the dashboard. You can look at your account as a whole or scroll through individual funds. This gives you easy access to the information you need to make decisions about your investments.
Simple sign-up: You can complete the entire 401(k) sign up process online. Navigation is simple, walking you through the entire set up from beginning to end. Additionally, there is an “Investment Crash Course” PDF and information pop-ups to help you understand the decisions you are making.
Self-management: Once logged in, you can manage key aspects of your 401(k) account, like changing how much you contribute each payday and updating your elections. Those that are single can change beneficiary information directly from the dashboard. Married users will still have to contact us and follow additional steps to make this change. Quarterly statements can be viewed and printed on demand.
From the dashboard you can also generate and print many useful reports. This is especially useful for those that want to talk with a financial advisor before making any changes.
Enhanced 401(k) Dashboard Features
We’ve added some powerful wealth management and planning tools to the dashboard as well. These provide our clients with elevated insight and detailed information on how their decisions impact their future.
Here are a few of the new tools our clients can now utilize:
Manage investment activity
You can update your elections to change the types of investments your future contributions purchase. From within the dashboard, you can also compare funds by risk level and their performance against Dow Jones and the S&P 500. You can also make day-of changes to your investments which will update when trading closes for the day.
Enhanced future planning
The entire point of setting up a 401(k) is to prepare for retirement, so we decided to give users more insight with the Retirement Projection tool. This tool allows you to see how today’s changes may impact your future savings. This essentially lets you simulate retirement and adjust your contributions today based on your goals for tomorrow.
Loan modeling
Our system allows you to simulate loan conditions through loan modeling. This gives you a projection of the impact a loan could have on your investment. It also shows you what repayment would look like on a week by week basis. This gives you a more realistic understanding of the impact a loan may have on your current and future financial situation.
As a financial technology company, we are uniquely poised to create powerful financial and wealth management tools. We’re excited to offer clients, and their workforce, this amazing new way to manage their 401(k)s. If you’d like to learn more about this or other products, contact us today.
The material presented here is educational in nature and is not intended to be, nor should be relied upon, as legal or financial advice. Please consult with an attorney or financial professional for advice.
