If you're transferring an existing 401(k) plan with automatic enrollment to Gusto Retirement from another provider, you'll need to complete a participant census with some specific fields. This article explains what a conversion plan is, why the census matters, and how to fill out each field correctly.
A conversion plan is when you transfer an existing 401(k) plan from a different service provider to Gusto Retirement.
If your existing plan includes automatic enrollment, there are specific steps you need to follow to make sure your plan converts properly.
A participant census gives us each participant's personal and 401(k) information so we can:
Properly import their data
Send participants required notices
File your plan's Form 5500
Each plan can be set up differently, and we need your prior plan's details to make sure the transition is smooth and avoids compliance issues. For plans with automatic enrollment, this includes information about each participant's current and prior elections as well as any default elections.
To start your plan with Gusto Retirement, you need to work with your prior 401(k) provider to get the census information. Gusto Retirement does not have access to this data and cannot provide it.
Depending on your provider, this information may be available on your plan dashboard, the contribution or deferral report, or through your payroll provider. If you have questions about where to find this information, reach out directly to your prior provider's customer support team.
The participant census includes several fields you need to complete for each participant.
Fill out the personal and demographic information for all eligible and terminated employees with 401(k) account balances.
What it is: The type of wages an employee or owner gets. W-2 means the employee gets a salary. Self-employed income (SEI) applies to those who report earnings on a K-1 or Schedule C and are not part of an S-corporation.
How to fill it out: Enter W-2 or SEI.
What it is: The participant's current pre-tax employee contribution amount.
How to fill it out: Enter a percentage or a dollar amount and include units (% or $) for each participant so deferrals can be set correctly. All participants who are auto-enrolled under a Qualified Automatic Contribution Arrangement (QACA) plan must have a value of at least 3% for this column. For self-employed individuals, elections must be set to 0 — they can set up owner's draws within their dashboards.
What it is: The participant's current Roth employee contribution amount (self-elected only).
How to fill it out: Enter a percentage or a dollar amount and include units (% or $) for each participant so deferrals can be set correctly. Only participants marked as self-elected should have Roth deferrals.
What it is: How a participant is currently enrolled in the plan.
Self-elected (SE) — The participant manually enrolled and sets their own deferral rate (also known as an affirmative election)
Auto-enrolled (AE) — The employee is automatically contributing due to auto-enrollment
Not eligible (NE) — The employee is not yet eligible to participate
How to fill it out: Enter SE, AE, or NE.
What it is: With automatic escalation, participants who have been automatically enrolled — and have not elected their own deferral rate — will have their deferral rates increased on an annual basis until a certain percentage is reached. While certain plans are required to have automatic escalation, it is not a universal requirement. If your plan has automatic escalation, you must fill out this section.
How to fill it out: Provide the first plan year that the participant's deferral rate was (or will be) automatically increased. If the participant has not been automatically increased yet, this can be a future date.
Note: The first year of auto-escalation field is required only if your plan has automatic escalation for auto-enrolled participants.
All providers must keep accurate and complete participant data. Your previous third-party administrator or recordkeeper should have this information.
If you do not have a participant's contact information, try reaching them using any available information you have, like emergency contact info or social media accounts. If you still cannot contact a participant, a professional search service can help you find them.