The trustee is the most important administrative role in your Gusto 401(k) plan. They hold the highest level of access and serve as the main plan fiduciary — a person with a legal obligation to act in the best interests of plan participants. Under the law, the trustee has personal liability for all aspects of plan operation. While they can delegate some responsibilities, they always maintain the duty to monitor those they appoint. This article covers who can serve as a trustee, how to change the trustee when needed, and what to expect after submitting a change.
To be eligible, a trustee must meet all of the following requirements:
Be an individual — you cannot name a role or job title (for example, CEO, president, or director of human resources) as trustee. We do not support directed or corporate trustees
Have a significant role at the company — the trustee is typically the owner, CEO, or equivalent. They do not need to be a plan participant, but they must be an employee of the company
Be based in the United States — non-US-based trustees are not allowed for 401(k) plans. Appointing a foreign trustee would disqualify the plan
Anyone appointed as a trustee should be made fully aware of their responsibilities and personal liability before accepting the role.
Note: We cannot support more than one trustee at this time. However, there are several other collaborator roles that can be assigned to help with plan administration.
If your company is based outside the US but has a US office, we recommend naming a US-based individual as trustee. If no US-based representative is available, you may contract with a third party to serve as trustee. We do not help secure legal assistance or cover any associated fees.
To change the trustee, you need to submit a completed Trustee Change Packet in your Gusto Retirement administrator dashboard.
Choose the path that matches how you signed in.
Sign in to Gusto and go to Benefits. Under Savings, find 401(k) and select View, then select Manage 401(k)
Sign in directly at the Gusto Retirement sign-in page.
Once you're in your 401(k) dashboard, follow these steps to request a trustee change.
Select Documents.
Access the Resource Library, then Forms & Templates.
Download the Trustee Change Packet. Complete the packet — see the signing requirements section below for details.
Upload the completed packet to the Shared Files tool within the Resource Library.
Email [email protected] to alert our team of the upload. Include your 401(k) plan’s account ID for security verification.
Note: The Trustee Change Packet only appears in the dashboards of the current trustee or primary benefit administrator. If you cannot access it, consult your current trustee or primary benefit administrator. If the current trustee or primary benefit administrator needs to be updated and you cannot access the document, contact us to discuss your situation.
Acceptance of Trustee form — the new trustee must sign this form to accept their appointment. The former trustee is not required to authorize the change
Witness — the witness can be any party who witnessed the new trustee’s signature
Approval by Authorized Signer Required signature page — the new trustee should sign this page
Signatures do not need to be notarized
DocuSign may be accepted in extenuating circumstances. Contact our sponsor support team to discuss your situation.
Acceptance of Trustee document — contact us if you'd like to modify this document
Terms and Conditions for Use of Benefit Trust Company BTPassport — if your custodial services are provided by Benefit Trust Company (BTC), this is a legal contract between the plan sponsor and the custodian that holds the plan’s funds. It cannot be changed
Board Resolution — this is a sample template we provide. You may edit it to align with your company’s structure
Important: The sample provisions in the Board Resolution may not apply to your company's unique situation. Consider consulting your attorney to make sure the resolution complies with applicable regulations and your company's bylaws.
Processing time — trustee updates typically take 2 – 3 business days, but may vary depending on the accurate completion of the Trustee Change Packet
Dashboard access — after we process your request, the new trustee will get an email at the address listed on the Approval by Authorized Signer Required signature page of the BTPassport document. The email will explain how to create their administrator account
Please note that if BTC is not your custodian, you will not have a separate trustee administrator account.
If the invitation email does not arrive — check spam and junk folders first. If you still cannot find it, contact [email protected]
For more help, contact our sponsor support team. Keep in mind that our representatives cannot provide guidance on your company’s unique legal situation. Consider consulting your attorney to make sure you have submitted a resolution that complies with applicable regulations and your company’s bylaws.