7 ms·

I almost posted something this morning about this, because I received an email that really frustrated me. I have a 401k with Guideline from an old employer. The

by isaacdl 11mo ago

I almost posted something this morning about this, because I received an email that really frustrated me. I have a 401k with Guideline from an old employer. The email was from Accrue <no-reply@accrue401k.com>, and said, in part: > Login: Please visit my.accrue401k.com to log in. You’ll find that the 401(k) dashboard and user experience remain familiar. If you’ve set up your account, your same login credentials will provide you access into the dashboard. (Please note, Accrue does not currently offer a mobile app). The my.accrue401k.com part was a hyperlink to that site. I've independently done some digging (and contacted my old employer to verify!) but this is precisely how a targeted phishing attack would work. Asking someone to enter their financial account credentials into a site they've never used or heard of, based entirely on an unsolicited email, is INSANE. This email was the first time I've heard of Gusto, of Guideline being acquired, or of Accrue 401k (which apparently is the company created to hold Guideline's 401k accounts that are NOT affiliated with Gusto). Nice.

corbet 11mo ago
Something broke down somewhere ... I got emails a while back about the acquisition and giving options about whether to go along with the move or not. Since Gusto is our payroll provider, I didn't see a reason not to do that... hopefully there will be less finger pointing the next time something goes screwy with the 401k transfers.
- isaacdl 11mo ago
  My guess is your different experience is precisely because you use Gusto as your payroll provider. My previous employer does not, or at least they did not when I was working there. This was truly the first and only email I've gotten about it, but I have always gotten regular transactional and notification emails from Guideline just fine, including yesterday with a confirmation that I'd changed my asset allocation!
IncreasePosts 11mo ago
This whole space is littered with bizarre security practices that make my hacker senses tingle. I know my 401k is provided by company ABC, but then they host all of their web content and ask you to log in to myretirementplan.com. and then they do a redesign and then ask you to log into yourretirementplan.com. and there's basically no communication from company ABC directly if these sites are legitimate or illegitimate
- cosmic_cheese 11mo ago
  This is common for mortages, too. Mine has been sold a handful of times (as are most peoples') and more than once I've had to triple-verify that the dashboard website the new servicer is telling me to go to is legit. They often have extremely dodgy URLs like "mymortgagedash.com" that have no obvious association with the loan servicer whatsoever.
  - xp84 11mo ago
    Yes! It’s like half the companies we interact with are actively working to teach people to do all the no-nos that some of us are trying to educate against.
raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
On a completely unrelated note: I don’t understand why people keep money in prior companies’ 401K plans. I always role mine over to my Vanguard account.
- sgarman 11mo ago
  Well they sold some retirement accounts to Ascensus which you have to have your own account and login for so maybe they will move your 401k too some day and you will be in the same boat as these guys.
- isaacdl 11mo ago
  I'd love to move the account (especially after this!), but unfortunately I can't because of what is basically an annoying side-effect. My current employer doesn't offer a 401k plan, and the only option I have for contributing to a Roth IRA is via backdoor contributions. Such backdoor contributions (which are basically an IRS-sanctioned loophole) have to start in a Traditional IRA account, and you cannot have any other/pre-existing Traditional IRA funds at the time of the contribution. So, I have nowhere to move the 401k funds besides an IRA account, but I have to leave my traditional IRA accounts empty so that I can do a backdoor contribution. I wish the federal government would just get rid of the salary cap for direct contributions to a Roth IRA, since they basically already allow it via the obnoxious and convoluted path.
  - raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
    What the actual f%%%! I just looked it up. Not that I didn’t believe you. I just never looked into it. For reference for others… https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/article/how-to-set-up-backdoor-ira https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/a... I’m both under the limit to contribute to a Roth since I am married and my company offers an “after tax 401K” (different than a Roth 401k) and I’m over 50 so I can do catch up contributions. I’m a long way before I need to worry about backdoor contributions.
    - deleted 11mo ago
      [deleted]
pants2 11mo ago
I got an unsolicited call from Fidelity once and they asked for a bunch of financial info. I told them I'd call back on their official number and they said that's not possible, I had to answer right away. So I told them to pound sand. Afterward found out it was legit when they sent the same form by mail.
SilverElfin 11mo ago
I wonder if this acquisition update today is caused by the recent lawsuit alleging Guideline was performing corporate espionage. Seems like weirdly coincidental timing? https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/new-corporate-espionage-claims-emerge-centered-on-two-highly-valued-401k-admin-startups/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/new-corporate-espionage-cl...

by isaacdl 11mo ago

corbet 11mo ago

Something broke down somewhere ... I got emails a while back about the acquisition and giving options about whether to go along with the move or not. Since Gusto is our payroll provider, I didn't see a reason not to do that... hopefully there will be less finger pointing the next time something goes screwy with the 401k transfers.

isaacdl 11mo ago
My guess is your different experience is precisely because you use Gusto as your payroll provider. My previous employer does not, or at least they did not when I was working there. This was truly the first and only email I've gotten about it, but I have always gotten regular transactional and notification emails from Guideline just fine, including yesterday with a confirmation that I'd changed my asset allocation!

IncreasePosts 11mo ago

This whole space is littered with bizarre security practices that make my hacker senses tingle. I know my 401k is provided by company ABC, but then they host all of their web content and ask you to log in to myretirementplan.com. and then they do a redesign and then ask you to log into yourretirementplan.com. and there's basically no communication from company ABC directly if these sites are legitimate or illegitimate

cosmic_cheese 11mo ago
This is common for mortages, too. Mine has been sold a handful of times (as are most peoples') and more than once I've had to triple-verify that the dashboard website the new servicer is telling me to go to is legit. They often have extremely dodgy URLs like "mymortgagedash.com" that have no obvious association with the loan servicer whatsoever.
- xp84 11mo ago
  Yes! It’s like half the companies we interact with are actively working to teach people to do all the no-nos that some of us are trying to educate against.

raw_anon_1111 11mo ago

On a completely unrelated note: I don’t understand why people keep money in prior companies’ 401K plans. I always role mine over to my Vanguard account.

sgarman 11mo ago
Well they sold some retirement accounts to Ascensus which you have to have your own account and login for so maybe they will move your 401k too some day and you will be in the same boat as these guys.
isaacdl 11mo ago
I'd love to move the account (especially after this!), but unfortunately I can't because of what is basically an annoying side-effect. My current employer doesn't offer a 401k plan, and the only option I have for contributing to a Roth IRA is via backdoor contributions. Such backdoor contributions (which are basically an IRS-sanctioned loophole) have to start in a Traditional IRA account, and you cannot have any other/pre-existing Traditional IRA funds at the time of the contribution. So, I have nowhere to move the 401k funds besides an IRA account, but I have to leave my traditional IRA accounts empty so that I can do a backdoor contribution. I wish the federal government would just get rid of the salary cap for direct contributions to a Roth IRA, since they basically already allow it via the obnoxious and convoluted path.
- raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
  What the actual f%%%! I just looked it up. Not that I didn’t believe you. I just never looked into it. For reference for others… https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/article/how-to-set-up-backdoor-ira https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/a... I’m both under the limit to contribute to a Roth since I am married and my company offers an “after tax 401K” (different than a Roth 401k) and I’m over 50 so I can do catch up contributions. I’m a long way before I need to worry about backdoor contributions.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]

pants2 11mo ago

I got an unsolicited call from Fidelity once and they asked for a bunch of financial info. I told them I'd call back on their official number and they said that's not possible, I had to answer right away. So I told them to pound sand. Afterward found out it was legit when they sent the same form by mail.

SilverElfin 11mo ago

I wonder if this acquisition update today is caused by the recent lawsuit alleging Guideline was performing corporate espionage. Seems like weirdly coincidental timing? https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/new-corporate-espionage-claims-emerge-centered-on-two-highly-valued-401k-admin-startups/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/27/new-corporate-espionage-cl...