Capitalize for employers

We’re a free, independent platform that helps employees move their 401(k) account when they leave your company. We help them rollover (transfer) their assets to an individual retirement account (IRA) at leading financial institutions like Vanguard, Fidelity, Betterment, and others. By making these transfers easy we empower employees to keep saving for retirement in a tax-effective, low-fee way. This helps them preserve the 401(k) benefits you generously set them up with.

We don’t charge you or your employees anything to use and we have a very short implementation process – with no ongoing work for the employer to do.

Employees who keep their 401(k) accounts with you cost you money. Most 401(k) providers typically charge you a fee for each participant in your plan, and that includes former employees who kept their accounts. You could be spending thousands of dollars providing a benefit to those who no longer work for you. We save you money by transitioning these employees into IRAs when they leave.

Under federal law, you owe a broad, fiduciary legal duty to your 401(k) participants. This includes former employees who keep a 401(k) account with you. Participants can file lawsuits against you on several grounds, including if they think their fees are too high or investment options were poor. Unfortunately lawsuits are a real risk (“401(k) lawsuits are surging”). Former employees who keep their 401(k) account are eligible to file these lawsuits. Helping them transfer their 401(k) when leaving reduces your legal risks.

We started Capitalize to help people save for retirement. We believe in helping savers find low-fee accounts that are easy to use with investments that are easy to understand. Deciding what to do with a 401(k) when changing a job is a tricky process, and employees can often pay taxes and penalties if they make the wrong decision. This undermines the benefit of their 401(k) in the first place. We’re trying to stop that from happening, and also help employers save money to reinvest in future benefits.