401(k) for small business: 2026 limits, providers and fees

2026 401(k) and small-plan limits

401(k) deferral

$24,500per employee, 2026

Catch-up, 50+

$8,000total $32,500

Catch-up, 60 to 63

$11,250total $35,750

SIMPLE deferral

$17,000$18,100 for certain plans

These limits apply per employee, not per company. What the plan costs you as the employer is the provider's fees plus any match or profit-sharing you choose to make.

Where small businesses get a 401(k)

The payroll link matters more than the logo. Every payroll, deferrals and any match have to reach the plan correctly, and most of the complaints below are sync errors. If you are choosing payroll at the same time, compare Gusto's plans and fees and what Paychex charges.

What a 401(k) costs you

Your cost has two parts: the provider's fees and your employer contribution. We could not verify provider fees: Human Interest's pricing page returned an error on October 17, 2026, and Gusto 401(k) prices were not captured in our October 16 research. Ask every provider for these in writing:

• Setup fee, monthly base fee and per-participant fee.
• Any asset-based fee charged to employees' accounts, and who pays it.
• Fees for plan amendments, loans, distributions and annual testing.
• Termination or plan shutdown fee. One Paychex customer reported paying over $1,800 to shut down an unused plan (ConsumerAffairs, September 15, 2025).

The match is your choice. As an example only, a 3% match on $50,000 salaries costs $1,500 per participating employee a year:

A PEO bundles the 401(k) with everything else. Justworks PEO Basic is $79 per employee per month (pricing page, checked October 16, 2026): $4,740 a year for 5 employees ($79 x 5 x 12), $9,480 for 10 and $23,700 for 25, which also buys payroll, HR tools and support. See what a PEO costs per employee for the rest of the bill, and run salaries plus match through the employee cost calculator.

What buyers complain about

• A plan switched on without approval. "Paychex activated the 401(k) plan on their own" (ConsumerAffairs, May 2, 2025).
• Fees to close a plan you never used. Over $1,800 to shut down an unused plan (Paychex, ConsumerAffairs, September 15, 2025).
• Terminated employees left in the plan. "Justworks forgot to remove terminated employees from the 401(k) plan" (Trustpilot, September 18, 2026).
• Wrong salary data, lower contributions. A Justworks reviewer reported wrong pay data reducing 401(k) contributions (Trustpilot, May 6, 2025).
• Missed employer contributions during a migration. A TriNet reviewer described a 401(k) move that skipped employer contributions (TrustRadius, August 23, 2026).
• Coverage lapsing. A Paychex reviewer reported health insurance and 401(k) coverage lapsed (Trustpilot, May 9, 2026).

The pattern is the payroll-to-plan handoff, not investment choice. Read the Justworks review for that provider's full complaint record.

Payroll integration: what to check

1. Deferrals sync every payroll without a manual upload, including off-cycle and bonus runs.
2. Pay changes flow through. A raise or a cut should change the deferral the same pay period.
3. Terminations stop deductions and trigger the plan's exit process.
4. Someone owns corrections. Ask who calculates and deposits missed contributions if a sync fails, and who pays any earnings owed.
5. Get a written fee schedule, including the plan termination fee.
6. Know what happens if you change payroll. Some payroll-bundled plans may need to move or change when you leave that payroll company; ask in writing.

Leaving a PEO or payroll company with a 401(k)

Buyers ask how to leave a PEO "without losing our 401(k) or health plan mid-year." When the 401(k) sits inside a PEO, leaving usually means moving assets to a new plan and re-enrolling everyone, so pick the new provider before you give notice. Schedule the payroll cutover at a quarter or year boundary, and confirm the last deferral reaches the old plan.

The trade-offs of keeping payroll and benefits separate are covered in PEO vs payroll service; our PEO rankings show which PEOs publish prices. Health benefits face the same timing problem; see small business health insurance options and how an ICHRA works.

Why we do not rank 401(k) providers yet

Our rankings follow published scores, and price is a large part of every score. With no verified 401(k) provider prices in our research, any ranking would be guesswork. Our scoring method explains the weights. When we can read provider pricing pages, this page will get a scored table.

New to payroll? Hiring your first employee covers the payroll setup a 401(k) depends on, and the 2026 payroll tax rates show what employer taxes add on top of pay.