There are a few different ways that employees can opt out of their plan if they would not like to participate:
- Easiest Method: Employees can opt out directly through their Vestwell saver portal. For more information and directions on this method, please review this article.
- Employees can contact Vestwell Saver Services. This can be done by calling (917) 979-5358, ext. 1.
- You can opt them out manually. If you have a plan with automatic enrollment, you can opt employees out of the plan from your Vestwell employer portal. Please find directions for this below.
- Employees can opt out by completing the Automatic Enrollment Permissible Withdrawal and Opt-Out Form. From here, employees can withdraw funds that were accidentally deferred due to auto-enrollment.
Opting Out Employees Through Vestwell’s Employer Portal (for Automatic Enrollment Plans Only)
If you have a plan with automatic enrollment, you may opt out of any of your employees at any time through your Vestwell employer portal. This method is commonly used by employers whose employees do not have email or internet access. Please follow these instructions to do so:
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- Ask your employees who wish to opt out to complete the downloadable opt-out form. This document is for your records only and does not need to be submitted to Vestwell. However, we recommend that you ask your employees to complete the form and retain it for your records.
- From the “Employees” tab in your employer portal, navigate to the “Manage Auto-Enroll” tab. This tab lists all employees who have not yet registered for an account and may elect to opt out.
- To opt out an employee, begin by clicking the check box to the left of their name. You may select one employee or multiple employees.
- Once you have selected the employees you would like to opt out, a count of the number of employees you have selected will appear at the top of the employees list for your reference. Select the Opt Out button to proceed.
- Next, a pop-up will surface, asking you to confirm this action. The pop-up will also provide details on what happens once an employee has been opted out. Please carefully review this information. Select Opt Out Selected Employees if you would like to proceed with opting out these selected employees, or click Cancel if you would not like to proceed.
- After selecting Opt Out Selected Employees, you will be returned to the “Employees” page. All employees who you opted out will receive an email confirming the successful opt-out.
Some Important Notes About the Opt Out Tool
- By using this tool to opt out your employees, we assume that you have done so at the employee's direction and with their authorization. Please be aware that if you submitted the employee's opt out request in error or without the employee's authorization, as recordkeeper we will not be responsible for correction processing fees, any lost earnings, or other monetary losses that the employee may incur in connection with processing this opt out request.
- If you need to mark an employee as "terminated", please do not use the opt out tool to do so. Instead, please follow these instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happens to employees who already have savings rate elections?
- How will I be notified when employees are automatically enrolled?
- My employee wants to opt out of automatic enrollment, but doesn’t have access to email. How can I help opt them out?
1. What happens to employees who already have savings rate elections?
If you have an active automatic enrollment feature on your plan, only eligible employees who have never made any affirmative elections will be automatically enrolled into your plan. Employees who have made an affirmative election of any kind—whether it was adjusting their savings rate or opting out previously—will not be automatically enrolled.
2. How will I be notified when employees are automatically enrolled?
If your plan does not have an active payroll integration, you will be notified via the standard savings rate change email that you receive when an employee’s savings rate changes. This will be consistent for automatically enrolled employees as well as employees who manually adjust or change their savings. You can view employee savings rate changes at any time directly in your Vestwell employer portal.
3. My employee wants to opt out of automatic enrollment but doesn’t have access to email. How can I help opt them out?
We recommend using the employer savings rate rate change feature above.