ShareBuilder 401k Announces Special Savings on Safe Harbor 401(k) Setup Ahead of October 1st Deadline

SEATTLE, August 18, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ShareBuilder 401k, a leading provider of affordable, all-ETF 401(k) plans for small businesses and medium-sized companies, today announced a special offer designed to assist businesses with employees establish their first 401(k) plan and meet the crucial Safe Harbor deadline.

To encourage early adoption and ease the setup process, ShareBuilder 401k is offering significant discounts:

• From August 18 to September 2: Businesses with employees establishing a new 401(k) plan will receive $250 off their setup fee.

• From September 3 to September 12: A $100 discount will be applied to the setup fee for new plans. Companies will have until September 17^th to purchase a Safe Harbor at ShareBuilder and still meet the October 1^st government deadline.

Safe Harbor 401(k) plans provide numerous advantages for business owners and their employees, including high contribution limits to build retirement savings, significant tax benefits for contributors including Roth 401(k) option, and a powerful tool for attracting and retaining top talent. A key benefit of the Safe Harbor 401(k) is its ability to automatically satisfy IRS plan testing requirements, allowing both employees and owners to maximize their contributions up to the annual 401(k) limits without restrictions.

While employer matching is optional in many 401(k) plans, the Safe Harbor 401(k) design requires an immediate vesting match for employees, including owners. For businesses with fewer than 100 employees, concerns about the cash outlay for employer contributions are significantly mitigated by the tax credits enabled in the recent Secure 2.0 Act. This legislation has added more tax credits for businesses starting their first plan beyond covering setup and administration costs to also include an offset to employer contributions. Any employer contribution not covered by these enhanced tax credits is typically tax-deductible for the company, further reducing the net cost.

To establish a Safe Harbor 401(k) plan for the current year, it must be set up by October 1 of the current year. Most providers recommend initiating the process well in advance to ensure the company’s plan is fully operational on time and not delayed until the following January. By leveraging ShareBuilder 401k’s current offers and digital purchase and installation process, businesses can establish a low-cost, full-featured plan that simplifies compliance management and provides valuable retirement benefits to their employees.

“Too many small businesses are missing out, unaware of just how affordable and accessible a robust 401(k) plan can be,” stated Stuart Robertson, CEO of ShareBuilder 401k. “Our unwavering commitment is to empower businesses of every size to effortlessly as possible provide themselves and their employees with a vital retirement plan. By offering these limited-time savings on setup, we are actively dismantling another perceived cost barrier and urging more employers to seize the benefits of a 401(k) plan.”