Skip to main
Human Interest LogoHuman Interest Logo
Get started

Audit Relief®.

Reduce the costs and stress of annual audits—so you can free up time to focus on your business.

Get started
THE PROBLEM
Required annual 401(k) audits are a pain point for plans with 100+ participants

Audits are required by law and can cost $10,000-$15,000+ per plan year, often eclipsing the cost of the plan itself.1,2 They require hours of manual work, and the cumbersome back-and-forth process between auditors and plan sponsors can drag on for months. Despite this, auditors generally only review a small sample of a plan’s transactions—leaving your organization potentially exposed to errors. While approximately 95,000 organizations required an audit in 2024, the industry has done nothing to address the needs of plan sponsors.

OUR SOLUTION
Audit Relief helps relieve the burden of costly, time-consuming 401(k) audits

Our first-of-its-kind solution automates manual tasks and consolidates data across multiple systems. This helps give auditors audit-ready data and reduces the time to perform an audit to as little as five hours.2 Audit Relief enhances audit quality by validating 100% of transactions to help ensure greater accuracy and protection for the organization.2 All of this is available at no incremental cost when working with an auditor using Audit Relief.3 You’ll receive a credit at the start of your plan year to cover audit costs, potentially saving you $10,000+ on audit fees annually.

Don't let 401(k) audit fees catch you by surprise

We help cover it:

Launch or move your plan by December 31, 2026, and we'll apply a credit of up to $4,000 toward your audit costs.4

We reduce the rate:

Audit providers on our marketplace offer rates starting at only $3,000.

We do the paperwork:

Our team collects and organizes your records to save your team hours of manual work.

How it works

Opt-in to Audit Relief

Sign up at the start of the plan year to claim plan credit.

Choose an auditor

Select a participating auditor of your choice via your Human Interest dashboard. During the year, Human Interest will add monthly credit(s) on your account that will cover the cost of most audits.

Audit performed

Using the Audit Relief package, the auditor conducts the audit, and Human Interest pays the invoice from the plan’s credit.

This service is available for customers on our Concierge package only.3

Human Interest Inc. does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Plan Sponsors should take independent steps to validate the tax, legal, or accounting considerations of hiring any service provider for the Plan, obtaining guidance on any Plan document (or amendment thereto), and for any issues pertaining to design, implementation, or operation of a Plan.

Your 401(k) provider should do the work

That's why we launch 1 in 3 new 401(k) plans, the most of any provider5

Get started


Frequently asked questions

Notes

1

Human Interest, 2025. https://humaninterest.com/learn/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-irs-annual-401k-audit-requirement/

2

Human Interest data collected from interviews of CPA firms over a 6-month period.

3

Audit Relief is available to eligible Human Interest customers. Customer must opt in for each Plan Year, and the credit accrues monthly from the month they opt in, so the earlier they opt in, the larger their credit. The Plan must be on a Concierge service package, use an eligible Human Interest payroll integration, and use an Auditor available through Human Interest's marketplace and PartnerConnect. The credit equals the lesser of the amount accrued or the Auditor's invoice and may be used only for that Plan Year's audit fees. Human Interest may modify or withdraw this offer at any time. Additional terms, conditions, and limitations apply. See Terms.

4

Offer available by invitation only to new Human Interest customers; not available to all customers. Plan must be in Active Status as of December 31, 2026, on a Concierge service package, and using an eligible Human Interest payroll integration. Opt in required by 11:59 pm Pacific on December 31, 2026. Auditor that is selected and engaged by the plan sponsor must be available through Human Interest's marketplace and PartnerConnect. Credit is up to $4,000, calculated as the lesser of $4,000 or the auditor's invoice. Credit is deposited into the plan's ERISA spending account and may be used only for the applicable plan year's audit fees. Additional eligibility conditions, exclusions, and limitations apply. Human Interest may modify or withdraw this offer at any time. See terms.

5

The ratio of new 401(k) plans launched is based on Human Interest’s internal analysis of self-reported, publicly available data from PLANSPONSOR (12/31/25), NAPA (6/30/25), DOL Form 5500 filings (1/9/26), and customer count data published on provider websites (12/18/25). This data may be incomplete, represents a point-in-time estimate, and is subject to change.