OnPay and Betterment at Work Launch 360° 401(k) Integration — Closing the Retirement Benefits Gap for the 59% of Small Businesses That Offer No Plan
OnPay (Atlanta; a top-rated payroll and HR provider for small and mid-sized businesses; 2025 PCMag Editors' Choice; transparent pricing and no hidden fees; award-winning customer support), has announced the launch of its 360° integration with Betterment at Work — a leading provider of modern, scalable 401(k) plans for growing businesses. The partnership creates a fully connected payroll-and-retirement experience for small businesses: employee and payroll data flow bidirectionally between OnPay and Betterment at Work with no manual uploads, no duplicate data entry, and automatic real-time syncing across both platforms. OnPay's own research reveals that only 41% of small businesses currently offer a retirement plan — with administrative complexity and time requirements cited as the primary barriers. The 360° integration is specifically designed to eliminate those barriers for the majority of small businesses that have not yet been able to offer this critical employee benefit. Betterment manages more than $65 billion in assets and its at-work 401(k) solution is built on the same trusted technology platform.
"Many small businesses want to offer their employees access to a 401(k) plan, but often worry that the plan administration will be time-consuming. Our integration with Betterment at Work makes it easier for business owners to keep payroll and retirement data in sync across their systems. By automating payroll data flows, employers can spend less time on administrative work and more time running their businesses."
— Patrick Beahm, Vice President of Product, OnPayThree Integration Capabilities — Automatic Sync, Contribution Automation, and Retirement Readiness
The 360° integration delivers three core capabilities. First, automatic employee sync: the integration automatically creates Betterment at Work 401(k) accounts for new hires and handles offboarding when employees leave the company — with updates to existing records reflected across both platforms in real time, eliminating the manual employee maintenance that makes 401(k) administration burdensome for small payroll teams. Second, automated contribution data: each pay period, data for employee deferrals, employer matches, and loan repayments automatically syncs between systems — supporting accuracy and compliance without requiring manual exports or uploads from payroll. Third, retirement readiness: employees get access to a modern investing and savings experience with built-in financial guidance, 529 Education Savings, 401(k) match on student loan payments, and 1:1 Financial Coaching — alongside extensive support resources from both OnPay and Betterment at Work through Betterment's highly-rated mobile app. Plans start at $100 + $5 per participant per month.
"By combining our modern, scalable 401(k) solutions with OnPay's powerful payroll technology, growing businesses can offer employees a valuable retirement benefit, strengthen their hiring and retention efforts, and support long-term financial wellness."
— Thomas Moore, Senior Director of B2B Partnerships, Betterment at WorkBetterment at Work's Compliance Infrastructure — Hassle-Free Guarantee and Built-In Fiduciary Support
The OnPay integration builds on Betterment at Work's existing commitment to removing compliance complexity from small business 401(k) administration. In March 2026, Betterment at Work renewed its Hassle-Free Compliance Guarantee — committing to deliver 100% of annual audit packages by May 31 each year, with a refund of up to $1,000 off the plan's annual base fee if any package is delivered late. The 401(k) platform includes customisable plans, built-in compliance designed to meet fiduciary requirements, investment management, and dedicated service and support at every step — for both plan sponsors and employees. For small businesses on OnPay, this means the administration that previously required dedicated HR time — plan setup, employee enrolment, contribution tracking, compliance filing, and audit preparation — is now largely automated and governed within the connected platform experience.
OnPay and Betterment at Work launch 360° 401(k) integration. OnPay (Atlanta; top-rated payroll and HR for SMBs; 2025 PCMag Editors' Choice; transparent pricing; award-winning support). Betterment at Work (leading modern scalable 401(k) for growing businesses; subsidiary of Betterment; $65B+ assets under management). Announced 12 May 2026. Available now. Setup: onpay.com/app-directory/category/401k/betterment-at-work. Plans from $100 + $5 per participant/month. OnPay research: only 41% of small businesses currently offer a retirement plan.
Three 360° integration capabilities. (1) Automatic employee sync — automatically creates Betterment at Work 401(k) accounts for new hires; handles offboarding when employees leave; real-time record updates across both platforms; no manual employee maintenance required. (2) Automated contribution data — each pay period: employee deferrals + employer matches + loan repayments automatically sync between systems; supports accuracy and compliance; no manual exports or uploads. (3) Retirement readiness — employees access modern investing and savings with built-in financial guidance; 529 Education Savings; 401(k) match on student loan payments; 1:1 Financial Coaching; extensive support from both partners; Betterment's highly-rated mobile app.
The small business retirement gap the integration closes. OnPay research: only 41% of small businesses offer a retirement plan. Primary barriers: administrative complexity and time requirements for already thinly-stretched payroll teams. The 360° integration eliminates the specific administrative friction that prevents small businesses from offering 401(k) plans — automatic new hire enrolment, automatic offboarding, automated contribution syncing, and built-in compliance mean plan administration no longer requires dedicated HR time or manual data management. Small businesses can now set up a 401(k) plan and connect it to OnPay in a simple setup process with ongoing automated syncs.
Betterment at Work compliance infrastructure. Hassle-Free Compliance Guarantee (renewed March 2026): 100% of annual audit packages delivered by May 31 each year; $1,000 refund credit if any package delivered late. Built-in compliance designed to meet fiduciary requirements. Investment management included. Customisable plan design. Dedicated service and support at every step for plan sponsors and employees. 2026 401(k) contribution limits: $24,500/year for employees under 50; $32,500 for employees 50 and older. Plans compatible with safe harbor 401(k) structures (avoiding nondiscrimination testing).
Strategic significance — retirement benefits as a hiring and retention lever for SMBs. Thomas Moore's framing captures why this matters beyond operational efficiency: growing businesses that can offer a 401(k) "strengthen their hiring and retention efforts and support long-term financial wellness." In a labour market where financial stress is directly linked to employee engagement and retention (as Prudential's 2026 Benefits & Beyond study confirms), the ability to offer a 401(k) is not just a compliance or administrative question — it is a competitive differentiator for talent acquisition and retention. The 360° integration removes the last meaningful operational barrier for small businesses: not the cost of the plan, but the administrative burden of running it. With automatic new hire enrolment, automated contribution syncing, and built-in fiduciary compliance, the OnPay–Betterment at Work integration makes the 401(k) as administratively simple as direct deposit.