LEADING RETIREMENT SOLUTIONS CELEBRATES 9 YEARS AS THE FIRST AND FOREMOST CANNABIS 401(K) PROVIDER

For longer than any other company, Leading Retirement Solutions has enabled cannabis businesses to better attract, retain, and support employees with their compliant cannabis 401K services.

SEATTLE, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Retirement Solutions (LRS), a comprehensive retirement plan services company that assists companies in all 50 states, has been passionately committed to one key idea since its founding: Every employee deserves retirement benefits. Guided by that belief, LRS embraced the cannabis industry in 2017, becoming the very first retirement plan services provider to support cannabis offer 401(k)s and an array of other cannabis-friendly banking services, to this booming, yet financially underserved, industry. 

Despite widespread legalization at the state level, cannabis is still federally illegal, which prevents cannabis companies from accessing federally-controlled banking and financial services. As a result, cannabis companies and their employees often lack access to basic financial services like 401(k)s or retirement savings plans. This gap in retirement benefit access is unprecedented for a booming industry that employs more than 440,445 full-time equivalent employees, according to the 2024 Vangst Jobs Report.

In response, Leading Retirement Solutions developed the first and most compliant cannabis retirement plan, The Leading Cannabis 401(k), tailored to meet the unique needs of companies in this heavily-regulated space. They also led the way in developing other innovative financial solutions for cannabis companies, including Defined Benefit plans, Cash Balance programs, seamless payroll integration, 3(16) fiduciary services, e-delivery platforms, and more.

LRS has consistently supported this nearly $40 billion industry with these robust and compliant financial services for 9 years—longer than any other provider in the industry. In that time, they've provided essential support to countless cannabis companies looking to attract and retain talent with traditional employee benefits and provided thousands of cannabis employees with access to vital retirement benefits.

"It is deeply unjust that employees of the cannabis industry have experienced retirement savings disruption due to service provider ejections," said Kirsten Curry, CEO of Leading Retirement Solutions. "Our team of experts has worked with numerous cannabis companies, including some of the largest in the country, after being ejected from other 401k providers. In every instance, LRS took these ejected retirement plans on and maintained retirement savings continuity for the cannabis companies and their employees. We work tirelessly to help the hundreds of thousands of employees in the cannabis industry access retirement savings benefits through their employer."

Through their superior services, LRS provides cannabis leadership across the country with access to diverse funds approved specifically for cannabis-related plans; a coalition of trusted service providers dedicated to servicing the cannabis industry; comprehensive compliance, risk assessment, and risk mitigation support; a skilled, responsive team of professionals on-hand to reduce administrative burden; competitive services and pricing; and more.

"LRS is much more responsive and easier to communicate with than our last plan administrator, and they check in with me often to make sure t's are crossed and i's are dotted," said Hannah Conlisk, Human Resources Analyst for the cannabis company Native Roots. "They also offer great resource materials, including the eligibility documents I send out to our new participants. Working with LRS has cut down my administrative time quite a bit, which has allowed me time to focus on other internal projects."

With deep cannabis industry experience and the most compliant cannabis industry financial services on the market, Leading Retirement Solutions has blazed an essential trail in cannabis, supplying vital financial benefits to this rapidly expanding industry.

More about Leading Retirement Solutions: Leading Retirement Solutions is an industry leader in innovative retirement plan solutions for businesses. LRS focuses on improving retirement strategies by offering custom-fit solutions and nontraditional investment opportunities. Their services include plan design, plan administration, recordkeeping, consulting, and more. Leading Retirement Solutions prides itself on helping fellow women-owned businesses, not-for-profit organizations, cannabis, and small businesses, through tax sheltering and employee benefits.

For more tips and information regarding retirement plans, contact [email protected].

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SOURCE Leading Retirement Solutions