Audit Relief™ Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: January 2026

Introduction

The following are terms of an enforceable contract between you and Human Interest Inc. (“HI”) for HI’s Audit Relief services (“Audit Relief”).  Your participation in Audit Relief constitutes your acceptance of these terms.

HI will provide Audit Relief to qualifying plans (“Plans”) conditioned on your compliance with these terms and conditions and, to the extent applicable, the HI Terms of Service.

Defined Terms

In this agreement, “you” and “your” refer to the entity(ies) shown on your Order Form with HI.

  • “Accrued Credit Amount” means the portion of the Credit Amount that has actually accrued to the Plan in accordance with these terms.

  • “Active Status” means that a Plan is making regular contributions and the Plan’s sponsor is in regular contact with HI, including but not limited to responding to outreach from HI in a reasonable period of time. A Plan not making contributions for any reason (including plan freeze, in-process termination, or completed termination) is inactive.

  • “Audit Fees” means fees charged by the Auditor to perform the Plan Audit for the applicable Plan Year pursuant to the Audit Package offered to HI customers in the marketplace areas of HI’s Plan Administrator Dashboard.  Audit Fees expressly excludes fees charged by the Auditor (i) related to the Plan sponsor’s or Auditor’s errors, delays, fraud or other administrative issues (e.g., missed or late payroll contributions) or (ii) related to atypical events or demographics during the Audit Year (e.g., mergers or spin-offs, multiple payroll providers, controlled groups, leaving HI).

  • “Audit Package” means the scope of work for a Plan Audit and associated fees that are set forth in the marketplace agreement between the Auditor and HI and listed in the marketplace area of HI’s Plan Administrator Dashboard.

  • “Audit Relief” means (i) a proprietary data and document package with record keeping, payroll, and custodial data about a Plan prepared each Plan Year for the Auditor and (ii) a credit against HI’s based administration and per employee fees equal to the Accrued Credit Amount. 

  • “Auditor” means an independent qualified public accountant (as defined in ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(D)) selected and engaged solely by the Plan Sponsor to perform Plan Audits.     

  • “Credit Amount” means the annual credit amount communicated to the Plan’s sponsor in the Plan Administrator Dashboard in the first month of each Plan Year.  

  • “Plan Audit” means the annual financial audit of a Plan by an Auditor performed when a Plan meets the requirements for an audit in connection with the Form 5500.  

  • “Plan Year” means the period covered by the Plan Audit.  At Human Interest, all Plan Years start on January 1st.  The first Plan Year for Audit Relief is 2026.

Audit Relief Prerequisites and Terms

  • The Plan must be on the Concierge service package and require a Plan Audit. The Plan Sponsor, in its fiduciary capacity, shall be solely responsible for selecting and appointing an independent Auditor and must enter into a separate engagement letter directly with such Auditor for the Auditor’s Audit Package.

  • The Plan’s sponsor must follow HI’s process to opt in to Audit Relief for each Plan Year via HI’s administrator dashboard. Each month, beginning in the month of opt in, 1/12th of the Credit Amount will accrue to the Plan. The Plan’s sponsor can opt in at any point in the Plan Year.  For the avoidance of doubt, if the Plan’s sponsor opts in after January, the Accrued Credit Amount will be less than the Credit Amount. The Accrued Credit Amount will be deposited into the Plan’s ERISA Spending Account before the Auditor’s invoice is due for each Plan Year.  

  • The Plan Sponsor, in its fiduciary capacity, hereby directs HI to deposit the Credit Amount into the Plan’s ERISA Spending Account. The Plan Sponsor further directs and authorizes the disbursement of such amounts to the Auditor for the payment of the applicable Plan Year’s Audit Fees. The Plan Sponsor acknowledges that this direction is consistent with the Plan’s governing documents and that the Auditor’s fees constitute a "reasonable and necessary" plan expense under ERISA Section 404(a)(1)(A).

  • Audit Relief is not available to any Plan that is required to be aggregated or cross-tested for non-discrimination testing purposes with a separate qualified retirement plan, such as a defined benefit plan, cash balance plan, or pension plan, maintained by the Plan’s sponsor or a member of the Plan’s sponsor’s controlled group.  

  • The Plan’s sponsor must be utilizing an HI payroll integration (the list of HI payroll integrations may be found here).   Payroll integration status is displayed through HI’s administrator dashboard.

  • The Plan’s Auditor must have entered into a marketplace agreement (or other similar agreement) with HI, be offering the Audit Package in the marketplace area of HI’s Plan Administrator Dashboard, and have an active profile on HI’s PartnerConnect platform that (i) includes billing remittance instructions and necessary tax forms (e.g., current W-9) and (ii) is linked to the Plan such that the Auditor utilizes HI’s Audit Relief data and document package.

Audit Relief Exclusions and Limitations

  • Audit Fees: Audit Relief can only be used to pay for the applicable Plan Year’s Audit Fees.  In the event Audit Fees for any Plan Year exceed the Accrued Credit Amount for such Plan Year, the Plan’s sponsor is solely responsible for all such overage amounts.  In the event Audit Fees for any Plan Year are less than the Accrued Credit Amount for such Plan Year, the additional Accrued Credit Amount for that Plan Year will expire and have no further value or effect.  Accrued Credit Amounts do not roll over to other Plan Years and may not be applied to Audit Fees or any other fees or expenses related to other Plan Years.  Ultimately, Plan Sponsor shall be solely responsible for ensuring all Audit Fees and any other fees due and payable to the Auditor are paid.

  • Auditor Invoicing: You must ensure that the Auditor submits invoices for Audit Fees via email to [email protected], and that the invoice includes your Plan’s HI plan ID number, which can be found in the plan details page of HI’s administrator dashboard.  Failure of the Auditor to submit a timely, accurate invoice will result in disqualification for the Credit Amount for the applicable Plan Year.

  • Payment Timing:  In accordance with the direction above, HI will pay Auditor invoices on behalf of the Plan within 45 days after receipt of a qualified invoice. 

  • Active Status and Concierge Service Plan Required: To be eligible, the Plan must be in Active Status with a Concierge service package at all times while a customer of HI during the Plan Year and through the date the Audit Fees are paid.  If the Plan becomes ineligible at any time, the Audit Relief will expire and the Accrued Credit Amount will have no further value or effect.      

  • Delinquent Invoices: Plans for customers with past due HI or Human Interest Advisors (HIA) invoices at the time HI is required to pay the Auditor’s invoice are ineligible for Audit Relief.  Audit Fee payments will not be made until all past due invoices are paid in full.

  • Auditor Selection: The Plan’s sponsor acknowledged that it is solely responsible for the selection, retention, oversight, and compensation of the Plan’s Auditor, and that the Auditor’s services shall be governed by a separate engagement letter executed between the Plan Sponsor and the Auditor.  Any information provided by HI related to the selection of an Auditor is only provided for educational purposes.  HI is not responsible, and expressly disclaims responsibility for, the advice, acts, and omissions of outside service providers, including Auditors.

  • Auditor Marketplace: The Plan’s sponsor acknowledges that the availability of any Auditor within the HI marketplace, or the inclusion of an Auditor on HI’s PartnerConnect platform, does not constitute a recommendation, endorsement, or vetting of such Auditor by HI. The Plan’s sponsor maintains the sole fiduciary responsibility under ERISA to independently evaluate the qualifications, independence, and fee reasonableness of any Auditor it selects. HI does not act as a fiduciary (as defined under either ERISA or the Investment Advisers Act) in maintaining its marketplace or providing the Audit Relief data package.

  • No legal advice: HI does not provide legal advice. If a Plan needs legal advice, it must hire a qualified attorney.

Termination

HI reserves the right to terminate Audit Relief upon the breach of any provision of these terms and conditions, if a Plan Audit, Plan, Plan sponsor, or Auditor fails to meet any of the prerequisites, exemptions, or limitations, or if a condition renders the completion of HI’s responsibilities unreasonably difficult to fulfill. Conditions that can render completion of HI’s responsibilities unreasonably difficult include, but are not limited to, your failure to reasonably fulfill requests made by HI or repeated use of abusive, inappropriate, or unprofessional language when communicating with any staff members or representatives of HI.

Other Limitations

HI reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions or terminate this offer at any time, including as needed to comply with applicable law.          

This offer is not valid for non-US residents, employees of HI, and its affiliates.

This program is administered and offered by the recordkeeper, Human Interest Inc.