Company

The Online 401(k)™, provides small businesses and single-person businesses with independent 401(k) plans free of hidden fees and commissions.

Founded in 1999, San Francisco-based The Online 401(k) currently serves more than 2,500 small businesses in all 50 states.

The Online 401(k) believes that every working individual should be able to retire in comfort by investing in honest, quality, easy-to-use and affordable retirement plans.

The Online 401(k) provides small businesses with two to 50 employees with an easy-to-manage, low-cost, all-inclusive 401(k) solution that features plan administration (including all IRS filings), daily valuation recordkeeping, online plan design, 24/7 access to 401(k) accounts and live customer service.

Single(k)™ is a flexible, easy and cost-effective plan for single-person businesses to maximize their retirement savings. With tax-deductible, tax-deferred savings of up to $42,000 a year, Single(k) answers the need like no other similar retirement plan.

Single(k) offers a discount brokerage account, live customer support and IRS-compliant documents in a complete package.

For both solutions, The Online 401(k) and Single(k), plan participants have access to more than 17,000 mutual funds, including four- and five-star-rated Morningstar ^® mutual funds. Employers and employees enjoy a wide variety of diversified fund options that cover all major asset categories as well as lifestyle funds, technology funds and socially responsible mutual funds.

The Online 401(k)’s retirement plans act in the best interest of small business owners and their employees with fully-disclosed low, flat fees that are not based on assets and do not erode employee's accounts.

Unlike mutual fund or insurance companies, The Online 401(k)’s plans do not promote its own proprietary mutual funds. Online management and live customer support makes The Online 401(k) and Single(k) easy to use and manage.

The Online 401(k) helps both employers and employees: Employers reduce business costs and can better attract and retain employees; employees receive the additional benefit of a retirement plan.

There is an incredible market opportunity. According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Labor, 64% of all employees in medium- and large-sized firms are covered by an employment-based retirement plan, compared with 34% at small firms. This "pension gap" in coverage among small businesses has been an area of concern for both small business employees and the government.

The 2004 mutual fund scandals related to improper trading and market timing have resulted in more scrutiny on fees that are charged to employees’ accounts inside their 401(k) plans.

As more small-business owners and their employees learn about the devastating effects of hidden asset-based fees, they are selecting 401(k) plan providers like The Online 401(k). Why? The Online 401(k) and Single(k), offer a unique and simple pricing structure based on an affordable monthly or annual flat fee with no asset-based fees or commissions.

Typical asset-based fees range from 0.25 percent to 1.5 percent of plan assets. Those fees are taken directly out of each 401(k) plan participant’s account, without any required disclosure (they do not appear as a line-item expense on 401(k) statements). These hidden 401(k) fees compound greatly over time and significantly erode the 401(k) savings a participant expects at retirement.

The Online 401(k)’s clients are located in all 50 states and number 2,500 and growing. They cover a wide range of industries, from doctor’s offices to oil lube shops — even an espresso machine maker!

The Online 401(k) provides solutions both directly and through distribution relationships with partners such as Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., payroll companies, financial advisors and CPAs.

The Online 401(k) has regional sales directors in San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; and Austin, TX.

Small businesses can easily establish a 401(k) plan, thanks to a streamlined plan adoption process that combines online tools and live phone support. Once the 401(k) plan is set up, employees access 401(k) and investment education content, select their investments and manage their individual 401(k) accounts — all from the convenience of their desktop.

The Online 401(k) is developed and managed by a team of experts with comprehensive experience in the retirement plan and financial services industries.

The Online 401(k)’s President and CEO, Chad W. Parks, has extensive experience in working with individuals and small businesses to solve their retirement plan needs.

Formerly a broker at Piper Jaffray, Inc., Parks started his own fee-based, independent financial planning firm, Retirement & Education Group Inc., in 1997 before launching The Online 401(k) in 1999. Mr. Parks is a member of the Financial Planning Association.