NEW PLAN

Your Guide to a Smooth Start

As we prepare to welcome you and your employees to your new retirement plan experience, refer to this timeline for key milestones, action steps, and links to important documents. Your installation contact will partner with you throughout your plan's onboarding and will email you any materials that are customized to your plan.

Onboarding Timeline

Join a call with your plan installation contact

Your assigned installation contact (IC) is your main point of contact and project manager during onboarding and sets up this initial call to:

  • Review any outstanding items from the plan design phase, and any changes in available investment options since you made your investment choices
  • Orient you to the next phase of onboarding and the cadence of tasks and communications you can expect

Register for your plan website

Your plan website is where you'll handle ongoing administration of your plan.

  • Following the initial call, you’ll receive an email from employerweb@ascensus.com with a link to register your account. Please register your account within 48 hours of receiving the link, otherwise, the link will expire.

Share employee census information with us

Your IC will explain which employee census information is required and how to provide it.

  • Add all necessary data using the Census Template.
    • Be sure to include employee workplace email addresses. This assists us with delivering plan-related communications to your employees.
    • For details on the requested information, refer to the Census Instructions.
  • Send this sensitive data via our secure messaging system.
    • Following your initial call, your IC will send you an email from this system; to access it, you'll need to set up an account.
    • Once logged in, reply to your IC's email with the files and it will be secure.

Share plan notices with employees

We're generating everything you’ll need to share required disclosures and notices with your employees.

  • Your IC will send you instructions for accessing and delivering them to all eligible employees.

Sign plan documents

We're preparing all the transition-related plan documents and agreements you need to review and sign.

  • Your IC will let you know when they're ready to review, and you'll receive an email from Document Delivery (Sertifi), our electronic signature site, that will include a link to access the documents.
  • Your IC will also deliver additional agreements or documents required for any optional services selected for your plan.

Get your employees enrolled!

Your employees can begin to join the plan.

  • Your IC will email digital enrollment guides for you to send to your employees.
  • Employees will have two weeks to take action before the enrollment window closes in advance of your first payroll submission.

Host an education session

The most effective way to help ensure employees join the plan is to host an enrollment education session and walk them through how to enroll online. If you are working with a financial advisor, they may be able to help you lead this.

Before the education session:

Join a call with your payroll consultant

During this call, your dedicated payroll consultant reviews everything you need to know to get set up for payroll and can assist you in choosing your submission method.

  • To prepare for this call, please complete the Automated Clearing House Agreement with the banking info to debit and fund contributions to the plan.
  • Email it to us before the call via the secure messaging system.

Go Live

Your plan installation is complete and the plan is officially live! Your employees can access the employee website, READYSAVETM mobile app, and Participant Services.

  • Your IC notifies you and provides you with flyers to share with participants to announce the plan is live and remind them how to access their account online.
  • You will receive a link to a confidential survey about the installation process, including the quality of your IC, meeting deadlines and deliverables, and your overall experience. Your feedback helps Ascensus identify the strengths of the onboarding process and where we can improve—and is a valued element of our commitment of service to you and other employers.

Meet your Client Service Team

Your Vanguard Retirement Plan Access Client Service Team, who will support you in running your plan going forward, contacts you for introductions and a demonstration of your plan website.

Submit your first payroll

Your payroll consultant contacts you when it's time to make your first payroll submission and can walk you through it if you need any assistance.