Sync your Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan with Gusto

Note: The Fidelity Advantage 401(k) is a separate product from the Fidelity 401(k). Click here for Fidelity 401(k) information.

Fidelity Advantage 401(k) is a simple, affordable retirement savings plan built for businesses that are looking to offer a 401(k) for the first time. With our 360° integration, your employee data flows seamlessly between Gusto and Fidelity, which improves data accuracy, reduces risk, and removes manual work, allowing you to focus more on your business. There's no additional cost to integrate your Gusto and Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan.

Connect to Gusto from Fidelity

If you’re not sure if your plan is a Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan: Check your executed Adoption Agreement in the Document and Forms section of Fidelity’s Plan Sponsor Webstation® (PSW). If you have a Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan, it will read, “Fidelity Advantage 401(k).” If it instead reads “[Company Name] 401(k) plan,” then you can connect your plan using the below instructions.

The integration will be authorized within Fidelity’s employer dashboard, called Plan Sponsor Webstation® (PSW).

To gain access to PSW®, you must be a current Fidelity Advantage 401(k) client. If you are not yet a Fidelity Advantage 401(k) client, you can learn more about the plan and get started here.

If you are a Fidelity Advantage 401(k) client awaiting your go-live date, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to PSW®.
  2. From the onboarding checklist, click Add your payroll provider and schedule.
  3. Select Gusto as your payroll provider.
  4. Choose Next.
  5. Click Go to Gusto.
  6. Enter your Gusto admin credentials and click Sign In.
  7. Select the company you’re connecting to Fidelity and click Authorize.
  8. Once the authorization is complete, you will be directed back to PSW®.

Continue with your plan onboarding and confirm your start date. Fidelity will then provide you with further next steps via email to take before your start date.

If you are an active Fidelity Advantage 401(k) client (with contributions remitting), follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to PSW®.
  2. Go to the Contribution center.
  3. Click Start Authorization.
  4. Choose Go to Gusto.
  5. Enter your Gusto admin credentials and click Sign In.
  6. Select the account you’re connecting to Fidelity and click Authorize.
  7. Click Go back to Contribution Center to be directed back to PSW®.

The next time you run payroll, employee contributions are automatically deducted from payroll and company contributions are automatically applied.

To manage your 401(k), view contributions, or review plan settings, always do so in PSW®. Any changes you make there will sync to your Gusto payroll. Once you run payroll, you can find a record of all contributions processed by pay date and employee on the Contributions tab of your Fidelity dashboard.

Plan administration

New hires 

When you add a new hire in Gusto, their information syncs automatically to Fidelity. Fidelity will notify you once the data has been received; you will need to verify the new employee’s eligibility for the plan within PSW®. Fidelity will email the employee directly with details about the plan and how to enroll.  

If contributions haven't started for a new hire, they may not yet be eligible to enroll per the Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan settings. This could also be because the new hire enrolled after your company ran payroll for the pay period, or because the employee is choosing not to contribute to the plan. You can find additional details on why contributions may not be applied under the “Troubleshooting sync issues” section.

Dismissals 

An employee's dismissal date from Gusto will be provided automatically to Fidelity and applied appropriately (stored in the “Termination Date” field). Additionally, their status code will be updated to “T – Terminated” within Fidelity’s system. Within ten days of these changes, Fidelity will update the dismissed employee’s deferral election to 0%. Fidelity will also contact the employee regarding their options to keep the balance in the plan or roll it over to another provider.

Calculating employer match

Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan design requires plan-wide consistency in calculating the Safe Harbor employer matching contributions. Fidelity will calculate the match amount with an accepted and common method. For this reason, when integrated with Gusto, employer match amounts will not show on employees’ paychecks. Employees can view match amounts in NetBenefits®.

Changing contributions 

Plan participants can make a change to their deferral election at any time using the Fidelity NetBenefits® website or mobile app. Fidelity will forward any election changes to Gusto where they will be automatically applied to payroll.

Changing the employer match is not supported per 401(k) plan policies. The company match, a standard Safe Harbor match, must be applied to all payrolls that are subject to contributions.   

Troubleshooting sync issues

Missing payroll deductions 

There are a few reasons why an employee may not have payroll deductions: 

  • The employee may not yet be eligible for participation in the plan per the eligibility settings.
  • You may have run payroll before the enrollment or deduction change was effective.
  • If you have monthly pay dates, and the pay dates are on the first of the month, deductions may be delayed by up to two months.
  • The employee is no longer eligible for participation in the plan per the eligibility settings (i.e., they have recently ended employment or are on a Leave of Absence).
  • The employee did not work during the pay period.
  • 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 theIRS annual contribution limit. 

Employer match missing

Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan design requires plan-wide consistency in calculating the Safe Harbor employer matching contributions. Fidelity will calculate the match amount with an accepted and common method. For this reason, when integrated with Gusto, employer match amounts will not show on employees’ paychecks. Employees can view match amounts in NetBenefits®.

Indicative data not syncing

If you’ve added data at Gusto but it’s not being reflected at Fidelity, check to make sure the employees’ SSNs match in both platforms.

Payroll data not syncing 

In order for payroll data to sync, Gusto must be set as your payroll provider at Fidelity. If you’ve changed your payroll provider since starting your 401(k), email [email protected].

If Gusto is still your payroll provider and your data isn’t syncing, check to see if reauthorization of the integration is required.

Reauthorize the integration

There are a few reasons why the connection between Gusto and Fidelity may be interrupted.

  • A company administrator has manually disconnected the integration.
  • In the event that potentially malicious, unauthorized, or suspicious activity is detected, we may revoke integrations’ access to your account as a part of broader risk mitigation measures.
  • Other security and/or risk mitigations.

There are two ways Fidelity will notify you if your connection has been interrupted and reauthorization of the integration is required:

  • Fidelity will immediately email you to let you know that reauthorization is required and provide instructions on how to reauthorize.
  • A “Reauthorization required” alert message will display within the PSW® Contribution Center letting you know that the connection has been interrupted. Click the Start reauthorization button and follow the prompts.

To reauthorize the integration, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to PSW®.
  2. Go to the Contribution center.
  3. Click Start reauthorization.
  4. Choose Go to Gusto.
  5. Enter your Gusto admin credentials and click Sign In.
  6. Select the account you’re connecting to Fidelity and click Authorize.
  7. Click Go back to Contribution Center to be directed back to PSW®.

Contribution errors

You may receive a contribution error within PSW® if you are on multiple pay frequencies and payroll is not run for all participants each pay period.

For other PSW® contribution error types, consult the Contribution Error Resolution Guide or contact the support team.

Glossary of terms

Plan Sponsor Webstation® (“PSW”): Fidelity’s digital employer portal and the primary  tool used by employers to administer the Fidelity Advantage 401(k) plan.

NetBenefits®: The Fidelity platform where eligible participants will enroll in the plan, select their deferral election, manage their account, and have access to free financial wellness resources. Available on both desktop and an award-winning mobile app.1

Deferral election: The percentage of pay elected by an employee to be withheld from their paycheck. Can be pre-tax, Roth, or a combination of the two. Sometimes referred to as a “deferral rate” or “contribution election.”

Participant: Broadly refers to employees eligible to participate in the plan. Employees with a balance and/or a deferral election greater than zero are often referred to as “actively participating” or “actively enrolled” in the plan.

Safe Harbor plan: A type of 401(k) plan that requires employer contributions. These employer contributions are generally tax-deductible and help the employer to avoid some annual compliance testing on the plan.

Eligible compensation: The compensation employees receive which is used for the purposes of calculating employee deferrals, employer match, etc.

Still need help?

Employers/Plan administrators: 

  • Contact the Fidelity Advantage 401(k) client service team directly at [email protected].
  • Check out the “Need Help” section of PSW® for answers to common questions, troubleshooting guides, and more resources.

Participating employees: Log in to your account at www.401k.com or through the Fidelity NetBenefits® mobile app for support.

If you are not yet a Fidelity Advantage 401(k) customer, learn more about the plan here

1. Source: Corporate Insight Participant Website and Mobile Awards Report, December 2023

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