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  • Hacker News
  • I had my account with Guideline also. No way was I going to allow them to role it into a holding account. I rolled everything into my Human Interest 401(k) plan. Very similar to Guideline, but a few added features that I like now.
  • My wife tried using Gusto and hated it. She then happily went a different direction, picked up Guideline for her 401K provider, and now she's super unhappy she's getting pulled back into Gusto. /sigh
  • They're both awful companies at heart. Birds of a feather flock together and all that.
  • Guideline is the worst financial company in existence. Gusto may be is #2, so the worst together!
  • Notes about 401K backtesting and funds,: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42387927
  • Interesting this is being posted now when the acquisition was two months ago.[0] Has anything changed?

    My copium as a shareholder is that they’re beefing up their services to boost a valuation for IPO.

    One can dream!

    [0]: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joshuareeves_better-together-...

    by tyre
  • I was made aware from my company's HR as an email was sent out.
  • If I my retirement was tied up with some startup trying to IPO, I'd be furious. It's the exact opposite of responsible stewardship.
  • Based on the above complaint, it sounds like they generated an email to account holders without mentioning the acquisition or linking to the FAQ. Perhaps they were flooded with questions and realized they have to discuss the terms of sale Or Else their corporate account admins start worrying (and evaluating alternatives).
  • The company I work for uses both and so far it has been ok, the gusto app has been able to show you your guideline 401k balance and some people seem to like how easy it is for them. I don't get to choose I just take the match and have my own accounts elsewhere.
  • I recommend everyone contact GENIUSWEBHACKERS@GMAIL.COM or via WhatsApp at +447414699515. In addition to exposing cheating partners, they offer the following services: * Removal of criminal charges * Monitoring of phones and social media * Hacking of websites * Bank transfers * Modification of account balances * Location tracking * Hacking of bank statements and much more. Feel free to share your concerns with us. Your satisfaction is our priority. You can also try their services at an affordable price through this professional email address.
  • Every job I've had with Gusto has managed to screw up payroll at some point. The support from Gusto is very poor, even a supervisor that's offshore when you call em won't be able to understand your basic questions.
  • Their support is a literal train wreck
  • lol they use LLMs to respond to support requests now and they don't seem to read what they're sending. I got an email from them where the LLM assumed I was the Gusto support representative:

    > This was concerning to us, as we rely on Gusto to handle these automated compliance filings.

    This was concerning to Gusto, as Gusto relies on Gusto to handle these automated compliance filings.

    by dqv
  • My brother had an issue with Gusto, but I've not yet, after having used them for... probably at least 10 years now. Maybe longer. I was a refuge from quickbooks payroll which managed to screw up state filings such that I had 2 years of bad filings with the state where they were charging me late fees for things QP screwed up. Huge hassle, cost me days of time and a drive to the state capital to turn in paperwork in person. I swore off quickbooks payroll and have been happy with gusto ever since. But... I'm a single person who occasionally does payments to subcontractors, not dealing with payroll for dozens/hundreds.
  • Interesting to hear the negative experiences with Gusto here. Our small company has used them for several years (12 I think) with no incident.
  • Guideline has an FSA/HSA product which is a walking CMMS and IRS violation.

    I never bothered escalating my disputes, but simply said, their customer service agents have multiple times admitted in writing to their systems being designed to break federal and state law.

    I never thought it was worth pursuing. But Gusto has deep pockets…

  • Could you elaborate
  • Not using Fidelity for HSA and Vanguard/Fidelity for 401k is a sign of bad leadership. I have to assume management is getting paid off some way to subject themselves to an inferior and more expensive custodian.
  • Gusto has their own, so I can't imagine they'd keep Guideline's?
  • What specifically is violating policies?
  • (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
  • Fun Guideline story: I worked for a company that went bankrupt and used guideline for 401k. The first day the website allowed me I withdrew the balance for rollover. Apparently this should not have been possible before the bankruptcy was finalized. I found from court filings that the bankruptcy trustee kept telling Guideline they need to freeze withdrawals until the bankruptcy was finalized, and Guideline kept dragging their feet and acting like they didn't understand. The trustee ended up having to go to court and get a temporary restraining order to prevent more employees from withdrawing their balances before the bankruptcy was finalized.

    Un-fun bankruptcy fact: All employee names & mailing addresses are part of the public record and accessible on PACER because they're potential creditors in the bankruptcy.

    by mjcl
  • Wait, how are 401ks part of a bankruptcy? I guess the matching portion?

    Edit: from my quick research, it appears 401ks are completely protected in a bankruptcy. The only thing would be if the company had not yet sent your contribution to the servicer, then that payment would be considered another creditor. But if the money is in your 401k account at your servicer, the money is protected from any bankruptcy.

  • 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.

  • 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-cl...

  • 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

  • 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.