Integrate with Betterment 401(k)

You’ll need to have admin permissions in both Gusto and Betterment before you connect your company’s accounts. If you’re setting up a 401(k) for the first time, get started with Betterment here. Once you've set up or transferred your 401(k) with Betterment, follow these steps to integrate the benefit with your Gusto payroll.

1. Sign in to your Betterment admin account.
2. Go to the Payroll section.
3. In the card that says “You’re eligible for an integration with Gusto,” click Start setup. 
4. Click Go to Gusto.
5. Click Let’s do this.
6. Click Go to Gusto.
7. Enter your Gusto admin credentials and click Sign In. 
8. Click Authorize.

Once you click “Authorize,” your Gusto and Betterment accounts are connected. 

Next steps

1. Betterment’s onboarding team will review your account to make sure the connection is set up correctly.
2. After Betterment’s review, you’ll receive an email from them asking you to look over any employee data imported from Gusto. 
3. Next you’ll have the opportunity to create accounts for any employees who need them. 
4. The first time you run payroll after setting up the integration, you’ll need to review and approve the details in Betterment. 

Company and employee contributions: you can view and manage all your plan settings throughout the year on Betterment's website. You can find high-level plan info in your Gusto Benefits section, but changes must be made directly with Betterment.

Employee data syncing

A sync runs between Gusto and Betterment multiple times per day. When you hire an employee or change someone's employment status in Gusto, admins will receive an email when it’s time to approve their Betterment eligibility. Follow the steps in the "Review new hire eligibility" section of this article to get your new hires started.

The first time you run payroll after setting up the integration, you’ll need to approve the payroll deductions in Betterment. Subsequent payrolls you run will be automatically approved.

1. Run payroll in Gusto.
   • On the “Review and submit” screen, click Download a full summary to see a full breakdown including the new 401(k) contributions and deductions.
2. Sign in to Betterment.
3. Go to the Payroll section.
4. Under “Payroll integration setup guide,” click Review payroll.
5. Click Continue.
6. Review your team’s 401(k) participation and contributions. 
7. Click Approve payroll.

In Betterment, payroll activity is logged on the Payroll section under “Activity.” Click the blue arrow next to a payroll to review employee and company contributions. 

When an employee is about to become eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan, Betterment will email you to approve their eligibility and invite them to sign up. Click the prompt in the email or log in to your Betterment dashboard to begin.

1. Sign in to Betterment.
2. In the left-hand menu, click Tasks.
3. Click Upcoming participant eligibility.
4. Click on the name of the newly eligible employee you want to approve.
5. Click Edit eligibility.
6. If the eligibility date is correct, you can confirm.
   
   • Keep in mind that if your company has a new hire waiting period, your employee's eligibility date may be after their hire date.
7. If they should not enter the plan until a later date, select Not eligible and enter the date they should enter the plan.

Once you approve an employee's eligibility date, they’ll receive an email from Betterment inviting them to sign up and start contributing to their 401(k). 

If contributions haven't started yet for a new hire, it's likely because they're not yet eligible to enroll per your company's plan settings. This could also be because the new hire enrolled after your payroll admin already ran payroll for the pay period. 

When you want data about your company’s 401(k) plan and contributions, admins can download a few different kinds of reports from Betterment. 

1. Sign in to Betterment.
2. In the left-hand menu, go to Resources.
3. Under the “Reports” tab, click Run a report.
4. Choose a report type from the dropdown.
5.  Select a timeframe.
6. Click Run report. 
7. Refresh your browser window to load the report.

Missing payroll deductions

There are a few reasons why there may not be payroll deductions:

• Your plan may not have started yet—check your Betterment account to confirm the start date.
• The employee may not yet be eligible for the benefit per your plan's eligibility settings.
• Your company may have run payroll before the enrollment or deduction change was processed. 
• Taxes are applied before deductions. The employee may have had $0 in net pay after taxes.
• Reimbursements are not eligible for 401(k) deductions. 
• The employee may have reached the IRS annual contribution limit. 

New hires 

Whenever you hire someone in Gusto, their info automatically syncs to Betterment. Once they fulfill any eligibility requirements (such as a new hire waiting period), Betterment invites them to enroll and their deductions will be automatically added to payroll. 

If contributions haven't started yet for a new hire, they may not yet be eligible to enroll per your company's plan settings. This could also be because the new hire enrolled after your payroll admin already ran payroll for the pay period. 

Change contributions or policy settings

Reach out to Betterment to change any of your company's policy settings. 

Changing the company match for a specific payroll: this is not supported per 401(k) plan policies. The company match must be applied to all payrolls that are subject to contributions. 

Loans 

If your plan allows participants to request loans, employees can reach out to Betterment to apply.  Once the employee reaches the repayment stage of the loan, Betterment will notify them with instructions. If Betterment collects the repayment through payroll deductions, the employee can expect to see post-tax loan deductions on their paystubs. Refer to the terms of your loan or contact Betterment to confirm your repayment method. 

Payroll data not syncing

In order for payroll data to sync, Gusto must be set as your payroll provider in Betterment. If you’ve changed your payroll provider since starting your 401(k), contact Betterment to update it.

If your plan allows participants to request loans or distributions, you may receive an email requiring you to approve them through the Betterment dashboard. Click the prompt in the email or log in to your Betterment dashboard to manage requests.

1. Sign in to Betterment.
2. In the left-hand menu, click Tasks.
3. Click either the “Pending loan requests or “Pending distribution requests” task.
4. Choose the pending request you want to review.
5. Select either Approve loan or Reject loan.

The employee will receive an update via email with next steps. Once the employee reaches the repayment stage of the loan, Betterment will notify them with instructions. If Betterment collects the repayment through payroll deductions, the employee can expect to see post-tax loan deductions on their paystubs.

Check out Betterment’s Help Center or contact Betterment directly at (855) 906-5280 or [email protected].

Some tasks will require you to contact the Betterment for assistance. This includes: 

• Requesting a plan amendment
• Correcting participant over-contributions
• Manually syncing data
• Disconnecting the integration

Employees can visit Betterment’s Help Center for 401(k) participants or contact Betterment directly at (855) 906-5281 or [email protected].