01

Setting up a first plan

Employers who want to set up a 401(k) in Denver usually start here. Compare plan types, eligibility, payroll integration, any required employer contributions, administration, investments, and possible federal startup credits before selecting a structure.

02

Reviewing an existing 401(k)

Organize the plan’s services, fees, investment responsibilities, participant experience, and governance records before deciding whether a change is warranted. A review can confirm the current arrangement as easily as it can prompt a change.

03

Coordinating a more complex design

Map ownership, related entities, workforce data, existing plans, and provider roles before evaluating pooled arrangements or a cash balance plan alongside the 401(k).

What does a retirement plan advisor do for a Denver employer?

The work begins with the employer’s objectives and workforce, not a product list. A 401(k) consultant’s role should be stated in writing and coordinated with the plan’s other professionals, because most of what a plan needs is performed by several firms at once.

Should a Denver small business choose a 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, or SEP?

These arrangements solve different problems. The table below is a starting point only; eligibility, contribution, testing, reporting, and tax rules require current plan-specific review.

Plan type	How money generally enters	Questions to resolve
401(k)	Employee salary deferrals and, depending on design, employer contributions.	Eligibility, testing or safe-harbor design, vesting, investments, payroll integration, Form 5500, participant disclosures, and fiduciary roles.
SIMPLE IRA	Employee salary reductions plus required employer matching or nonelective contributions.	The 100-employee eligibility rule, the required employer contribution formula, calendar-year timing, the IRA structure, and restrictions on maintaining another plan.
SEP	Employer contributions to SEP-IRAs; employees do not make salary deferrals to the SEP.	Which employees must be covered, the contribution formula, treatment of related businesses, and whether the employer wants employee salary deferrals or a more flexible qualified-plan design.

For a small business 401(k) in Denver, the design question that comes up most often is whether to use a safe harbor 401(k). A safe harbor design commits the employer to a specified contribution formula in exchange for relief from certain annual nondiscrimination testing. Whether that trade is worth making depends on the workforce, the compensation pattern, expected participation, and how much administrative complexity the employer wants to carry, so it should be modeled rather than assumed.

A cash balance plan is a defined benefit plan with actuarially determined funding. It may be evaluated alongside a 401(k) only after ownership, related entities, workforce data, cash-flow durability, existing plans, and provider responsibilities are understood. Practices and closely held businesses weighing that route can start with our guide to cash balance plans for Colorado business owners.

How do 3(21) and 3(38) investment roles differ?

ERISA 3(21)

Investment advice

The adviser recommends. The employer decides. An adviser may make investment recommendations, but the responsible plan fiduciary keeps the authority to act on them or not. The agreement should state which recommendations the adviser provides and which decisions stay with the employer.

ERISA 3(38)

Discretionary investment management

The manager decides, within limits the agreement sets. A properly appointed investment manager may accept discretionary authority for the investment responsibilities defined in the agreement, which is what employers looking for a 3(38) investment manager in Denver usually want: investment selection and monitoring off an internal committee’s desk. One duty does not transfer. The sponsor still must prudently select and monitor that provider.

How do you switch 401(k) providers or advisors?

A change of provider or adviser is a project with a sequence, and most of the difficulty sits in the data rather than the decision. Employers who want to switch 401(k) providers in Denver generally work through five steps.

What should a Denver employer compare before selecting a plan or provider?

The Department of Labor says selecting a service provider is a fiduciary act. A documented comparison works best when each provider responds to the same scope.

Up to

$5,000

for each of 3 tax years

Eligibility and calculation required

Could federal tax credits offset some startup costs?

Current IRS guidance says an eligible small employer may be able to claim a credit of up to $5,000 for each of three tax years for qualified costs of establishing or administering an eligible plan and educating employees about it.

The amount and eligibility depend on employee count, non-highly compensated employee participation, prior-plan history, controlled-group and predecessor rules, eligible costs, and the timing election. For employers with 50 or fewer employees who received at least $5,000 in compensation in the preceding year, the startup-cost percentage may be 100%; for 51–100 such employees, it remains 50%, in each case subject to the statutory calculation and cap. A separate $500 annual credit may apply for three years when an eligible automatic-contribution arrangement is first included and maintained.

These credits are not automatic, and the same startup expense cannot support both a deduction and the credit. Confirm eligibility, calculations, elections, and current Form 8881 instructions with the employer’s qualified tax professional before relying on a credit.

Source checked 2026-08-26: IRS: Retirement plans startup costs tax credit

What happens when a Denver employer starts a plan review?

Four steps, and we do the work in each one. You supply what you have, we organize the rest, and you keep every decision.

Does Colorado require my business to offer a retirement plan?

Colorado operates a state-facilitated retirement savings program, and covered employers are generally required either to participate or to offer a qualifying private plan such as a 401(k). Because the eligibility thresholds, deadlines, and exemption details change and deserve their own treatment, we cover them separately in our guide comparing Colorado SecureSavings and a 401(k).

What does a 401(k) give a Colorado employer beyond compliance?

Meeting a state requirement is the floor, not the reason most Denver-metro employers end up with a 401(k). Four differences tend to drive the decision.

Denver retirement plan advisor FAQs

We’re already enrolled in Colorado SecureSavings. Can we still start a 401(k)?+

Generally yes. Employers commonly move from a state-facilitated program to a qualifying private plan, and sponsoring an eligible plan is one of the ways a covered employer meets its obligation. The sequence matters: confirm the plan’s effective date, the state program’s exit or exemption process and its timing, the payroll changes required, and the notices employees must receive. Our guide comparing Colorado SecureSavings and a 401(k) covers the comparison in more depth, and the employer’s tax and legal professionals should confirm the mechanics for its own facts.

Do you meet in person with Denver employers?+

Yes. We come to you. Meetings are held at your workplace or virtually, depending on what the discussion calls for, and committee meetings and participant education sessions are done on site. Our office serving the metro is in Westminster; there is no downtown Denver office.

What size Colorado businesses do you work with?+

Employer plan work spans a wide range of sizes, and size alone is not what determines fit. The more useful questions are whether the business has employees beyond the owners, whether related entities or ownership structures need to be included in the analysis, what administrative capacity exists internally, and whether the employer wants advice or wants investment responsibility formally accepted by a provider. Those answers shape the plan type, the provider structure, and the fiduciary role far more than headcount does.

Are retirement plan startup tax credits guaranteed?+

No. Eligibility and the amount depend on current tax law and employer facts. The employer’s qualified tax professional should confirm the current Form 8881 rules, controlled-group treatment, eligible expenses, elections, and interaction with deductions before a credit is claimed or included in a budget.

Does hiring a retirement plan advisor remove the employer’s fiduciary responsibility?+

No. An employer may allocate responsibilities and engage fiduciary service providers, but the responsible plan fiduciaries retain duties that include prudently selecting and monitoring providers and following the plan documents. The written agreement should state each party’s role.

Can WealthPlan serve as the plan administrator or recordkeeper?+

Unless separately and expressly engaged, WealthPlan does not act as the plan administrator, trustee, recordkeeper, third-party administrator, attorney, accountant, or auditor. The service team and written agreements must identify who performs each function.

How should an employer compare retirement plan fees?+

Compare the complete services and compensation on the same basis. Include direct charges, indirect compensation, investment expenses, asset- or participant-based fees, one-time costs, termination charges, and who pays each amount. A lower quoted price is not meaningful if the scope differs.

Retirement Plan Solutions See WealthPlan’s broader plan-sponsor service framework and fiduciary-service boundaries. Colorado SecureSavings vs a 401(k) Compare the state-facilitated program with a qualifying private plan, including thresholds and deadlines. Colorado cash balance plan guide Understand the ownership, census, actuarial, funding, employee-cost, and exit questions professional practices should examine. Meet the Denver team View the WealthPlan professionals serving Denver-metro employers from Westminster. Meet Weston Behlen, CRPS® Learn about WealthPlan’s Advisor and Shared Plan Advantage Consultant.

Bring the plan decision into focus

A first conversation can clarify the decision, the facts that belong in the review, and the specialists who may be needed. It does not commit the employer to a plan design, provider, or engagement. You can also see WealthPlan’s retirement plan services for employers for the broader service framework and fiduciary-service boundaries.