Rollover and Safe Harbor IRAs for Plan Advisors

Every time a participant leaves a 401(k) plan, the advisor on that plan has a chance to keep the relationship, and most of the time it goes somewhere else. The balance rolls to a retail brokerage, a robo platform, or an IRA the participant opened in a hurry. AET’s rollover IRA program for plan advisors keeps those accounts with the advisor who already knows the participant, with safe harbor IRAs for participants who never respond when a plan terminates.

How much money is leaving 401(k) plans?

A lot, and more every year. LIMRA estimates that $855 billion rolled from employer plans into IRAs in 2025, up from $807 billion in 2024, and projects $1.15 trillion a year by 2030 (InvestmentNews). The Investment Company Institute has found that about 75% of the money going into IRAs comes from plan rollovers (PLANADVISER).

Most of it moves when people change jobs. In ICI’s research, 68% of people who rolled money into an IRA said a job change was a reason, and 43% said retirement. Schwab’s 401(k) data shows 62% of participants with a distributable event moved their money into an IRA.

Why do plan rollovers leave the advisor?

Because small accounts don’t pay for the time they take. Most advisors charge a percentage of assets, and the median fee is about 1% on balances up to $1 million (Kitces). At 1%, a $40,000 rollover brings in about $400 a year. A $400,000 rollover brings in $4,000.

The work behind the two accounts is close to the same. Each one needs onboarding and paperwork, identity and compliance checks, an investment setup, regular reviews, and someone to answer the client’s questions. Those costs don’t shrink with the balance, so many firms set a minimum by working out what a client has to pay to cover them. Kitces notes that a $250,000 minimum at a 1% fee is really a $2,500 minimum annual fee (Kitces). A $40,000 participant falls well short.

So the advisor lets it go, and the participant picks whatever is easiest. Over a few years, a plan with 50 participants can send millions of dollars to other firms one small rollover at a time.

Which participants does AET help advisors keep?

Participants with roughly $7,000 to a few hundred thousand dollars in the plan. Balances under $7,000 can be moved out of a plan automatically, and the largest balances usually get a personal call from the advisor. Participants in this range get neither, so they’re the ones advisors lose most often.

They have real savings, and they’re changing jobs, retiring, or leaving because the plan is terminating. Many of them would stay with an advisor they already know if staying were simple. AET makes it simple, so the advisor can keep these accounts without the work that made them unprofitable.

How does AET’s rollover program work?

It cuts the work of opening and running a smaller account, so keeping the participant makes sense for the advisor.

• The advisor opens the IRA from the Business Portal, on a platform branded with the advisor’s firm
• The participant gets a link to review and e-sign the application and verify their identity, which takes a few minutes
• We process the rollover with the plan’s recordkeeper and track it until the money lands
• The advisor sees every account in our Business Portal, and account data flows to their reporting tools through Morningstar ByAllAccounts
• One custodian holds the advisor’s plan rollovers instead of a scattered set of retail accounts

Our business platform is fully white-labeled. Participants see the advisor’s firm from the first screen to the last, and the advisor’s team gets the full set of tools for onboarding, funding, and servicing accounts.

We set up each plan directly with the advisor and the plan’s recordkeeper. If you advise retirement plans, talk with our team.

What can the IRA invest in?

Low-cost model portfolios cover the core of most accounts, so a $40,000 rollover can be invested and managed without custom work. For clients who want more, AET also holds alternative assets inside the IRA, including real estate, private placements, private credit, and venture funds. Few rollover IRA programs can hold alternatives, and that’s where AET started.

What about old 401(k)s from earlier jobs?

Many participants have more than one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that people born from 1957 to 1964 held an average of 12.9 jobs between ages 18 and 58. The Government Accountability Office found that more than 25 million participants left at least one account behind at a former employer between 2004 and 2013. Most advisors have heard a client say they aren’t sure where an old 401(k) went.

Through our integration with Beagle, participants can search for old 401(k)s and roll them into the same IRA. The advisor gets more of the client’s savings in one place, and the client gets one account to keep track of. Read more in Finding Old 401(k)s for Rollover Clients With Beagle.

What happens to participants who never respond?

It depends on the balance and on whether the plan is ending. The Department of Labor lets a plan move a nonresponsive participant into a safe harbor IRA in two situations, a mandatory cash-out of $7,000 or less from an ongoing plan, or a plan termination. Outside those two, the money stays in the plan.

AET offers safe harbor IRAs alongside the rollover program, so one custodian handles the participants who choose a rollover and the ones who never respond when a plan terminates. Our guide to safe harbor IRAs for plan terminations covers the rules in detail.

Who holds the accounts?

AET is a Nevada-chartered trust company, regulated by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division. Our systems and controls are independently audited under SOC 1 Type II and SOC 2 Type II. See our Trust Center for details.

Frequently asked questions

Does a participant have to roll over to the plan advisor? No. The participant chooses where their money goes. The program makes staying with the plan advisor an easy option.

Can participants bring in other old accounts? Yes. Participants can search for old 401(k)s through our Beagle integration and roll them into the same IRA.

Is the platform branded with my firm? Yes. The business platform is fully white-labeled, so participants see your firm throughout.

How does an advisor get started? Contact our team to set up your plans.

Talk to us about plan rollovers

If you advise 401(k) plans and lose participant rollovers you’d rather keep, we’d like to hear from you. See our plan rollover program, or book a call with our team.

This material has been prepared for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, legal, tax, or investment advice. Plan fiduciaries and advisers should confirm how these rules apply to a specific plan with ERISA counsel.