Ascensus Expands and Enhances Small Business Retirement Strategy with Launch of Ascensus Essentials

Enhanced offering adds 3(16) administrative fiduciary services and a new 401(k) solution featuring Vanguard investments, giving small businesses and advisors expanded capabilities and greater flexibility

DRESHER, Pa., Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensus, the engine at the center of America's savings ecosystem, today unveiled an enhanced version of its small business retirement offering, reintroduced as Ascensus^® Essentials. The prior iteration of this offering was known as Ascensus CoPilot. Building on a proven foundation, the enhanced solution features new capabilities designed to simplify plan setup and administration for small business owners while supporting future growth.

Ascensus Essentials reflects the company's continued focus on making it easier for small businesses and advisors to offer retirement plans. Ascensus is expanding the Ascensus Essentials product suite with the addition of 3(16) administrative services to its existing 401(k) offering, as well as the introduction of a new small business 401(k) featuring Vanguard investments. Together, these enhancements broaden the range of solutions available to small business owners, providing more flexibility to support a variety of retirement plan needs.

The addition of 3(16) administrative fiduciary services addresses a persistent awareness gap. Ascensus research finds that 48% of plan sponsors don't know what a 3(16) fiduciary is, and 26% have never had 3(16) services presented to them¹—even though fiduciary risk ranks as the number one concern among plan sponsors.¹ By outsourcing day-to-day responsibilities such as eligibility tracking, contribution monitoring, and filing requirements, 3(16) services help small business owners reduce administrative burden and fiduciary exposure while advisors deepen their role as trusted partners.

"Small business owners want a retirement plan solution that is simple to adopt, easy to manage, and built to grow with their business," said Mary Torgerson, Head of Small Business Retirement at Ascensus. "Ascensus Essentials brings together streamlined plan design, scalable capabilities, and an improved onboarding experience to help advisors and business owners move forward with greater confidence. This enhanced offering underscores our relentless commitment to making retirement benefits more accessible and easier to administer for small businesses."

The launch of Ascensus Essentials fills a gap and comes as employers increasingly recognize that offering a plan is only the first step. While 98% of organizations offer a qualified retirement plan, only 58% believe their employees fully take advantage of it¹—a gap that points to the need for simpler setup, clearer administration, and stronger support for the small businesses and advisors driving adoption.

A key component of the expanded offering is an enhanced onboarding experience that supports a more seamless online plan setup process. By making onboarding easier and more efficient, Ascensus Essentials helps reduce complexity for small business owners and enables advisors to deliver a faster, easier, and more intuitive experience to clients.

The results are measurable. The Ascensus Essentials digital onboarding experience has reduced plan setup time from 20+ days to as few as 2.5 days, achieved 100% good-order submissions, and significantly reduced plan cancellations during onboarding.² Today, plans go live in an average of 2.5 days for Individual(k) plans and 8 days for group plans, which provides a meaningful benefit for small business owners who are under immense time constraints. 

"The Ascensus Essentials Individual(k) digital onboarding experience was clear and efficient from start to finish," noted Kyle Worthy, Director of Retirement Plans at Spartan Wealth Management. "I didn't need to make a single phone call and my clients were able to easily navigate the onboarding tasks. It's changed how I think about doing more business with Ascensus."

Advisors can now directly access plan setup for Individual(k) products from Advisor Central, a hub for retirement solutions, client engagement tools, and advisor-focused resources.

Ascensus Essentials is part of Ascensus' broader suite of retirement solutions that are easy for employers to understand, implement, and manage. Designed as an accessible starting point for small businesses, Ascensus Essentials combines a simplified product structure with enhanced digital onboarding to make it easier to establish a retirement plan. As businesses grow and their needs change, advisors can help clients transition to additional Ascensus solutions, providing scalable support throughout their retirement plan journey.

Visit ascensus.com to learn more about Ascensus Essentials.

Sources
1. Newport, an Ascensus company. 2025–2026 Compensation, Retirement, and Benefits (CRB) Trends Report. Newport Group, Inc., 2025–2026.
2. Ascensus internal plan data, 2026.

About Ascensus
Ascensus is the engine at the center of America's savings ecosystem. The company makes saving easier by bringing together intuitive technology, AI, and high-touch service to support better financial outcomes for savers, small- to mid-sized businesses, state governments, and leading corporations and financial institutions. Ascensus offers comprehensive qualified and nonqualified retirement plan solutions, third-party retirement plan administration, 529 education and ABLE savings program administration, corporate- and bank-owned life insurance solutions, as well as fiduciary and total rewards services. Through its complete range of solutions, the company supports more than 16 million savers nationwide. For more information, visit ascensus.com.

CONTACT:
Greg Winter
SVP, Corporate Communications
[email protected] 

SOURCE Ascensus