When you run your first payroll after your Gusto 401(k) plan starts, employee contributions are withheld automatically. This article explains what to expect on the timeline, how to make sure your plan is ready before running payroll, and what to do if contributions do not appear on pay stubs.
Your employees who earn W-2 income should see their first 401(k) deductions withheld from the first payroll run after your plan's start date. This payroll is your first payday with an active Gusto 401(k).
After your scheduled pay date, it may take 5 – 7 business days for employee and employer contributions to be collected from your company bank account via Automated Clearing House (ACH) and allocated to participants' investment accounts.
Before running your first payroll with 401(k) contributions, confirm the following:
All tasks on your Gusto Retirement administrator dashboard are complete.
You wait at least one full business day after the plan's start date before running payroll. This gives the system time to sync contribution data to your payroll system. Running payroll too early may result in contributions not appearing on employee pay stubs.
To check your dashboard tasks, expand the sections below.
To check your dashboard tasks from Gusto, follow these steps.
Sign in to Gusto.
Go to Benefits, then select Active Benefits.
Select 401(k), then select Manage.
Review the task list and make sure all items are marked as done before running payroll.
To check your dashboard tasks from Gusto Retirement, follow these steps.
Sign in at the Gusto Retirement sign-in page.
Review the task list and make sure all items are marked as done before running payroll.
If you ran payroll after the plan start date and do not see contributions on your employees' pay stubs, take these steps immediately.
Cancel the payroll run as soon as possible to prevent incorrect paychecks from processing. Learn how to cancel payroll with Gusto.
Submit a support ticket to contact our Retirement Sponsor Support team. We can help resolve the issue and make sure your employees get their first contributions on time.
Important: Do not re-run payroll until the issue is resolved. Our team will confirm when you are set to proceed.