Leverage

What Leverage does

Leverage Retirement is a US-based third-party administrator (TPA) that designs, sets up, and administers employer-sponsored retirement plans. Founded in 1979 and headquartered in the United States, the firm is privately held under the leadership of CEO Faith Teope, who became the company's first female CEO announced on International Women's Day 2021. The firm's core products are 401k programs (including specialized offerings for banks and Solo 401k plans for entrepreneurs), Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) in leveraged and non-leveraged structures for C and S corporations, and a suite of supporting services covering distributions, required minimum distributions, hardship withdrawals, rollover deposits, ESOP diversification, and ESOP installments. The technology stack is not proprietary; the firm operates on a Squarespace-hosted marketing site and routes plan sponsor and participant access through Schwab's retirement platform (smg.retirement.schwabrt.com), with document management on ShareFile. Onboarding is described as 100% digital with live expert support across chat, email, and phone, replacing a traditional paper-driven TPA workflow.

The business model is professional services revenue: Leverage Retirement charges fees to business clients (companies, banks, and entrepreneurs) for plan design, setup, ongoing administration, and compliance support. No public pricing or fee schedules are disclosed; quotes are provided on direct contact. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales combined with a self-serve digital onboarding layer, targeting three primary segments — banks (public and private banks, credit unions, community banks, national and regional banks), general companies seeking 401k benefits, and entrepreneurs and ESOP-candidate companies seeking succession or tax-advantaged ownership strategies. Distribution is supported by a content marketing engine (the Money Talk blog) and an active Instagram presence, positioning the firm as a niche specialist in bank 401k programs and ESOP communications rather than a volume competitor to large national TPAs. No funding rounds, institutional investors, or M&A activity are disclosed, and the company has been operating continuously for over 45 years.

Name

Leverage

Legal name

Leverage Retirement

Website

https://leverageretirement.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Leverage Retirement is a US-based, privately held third-party administrator founded in 1979 that designs and administers 401k and ESOP plans for banks, companies, and entrepreneurs, combining 100% digital onboarding with live expert support and Schwab-platform recordkeeping.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEABAE

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Wealth & Retirement Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEABAD

Retirement Income Planning & Decumulation Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Wealth & Retirement Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEAAAD

Retirement & Pension Planning (401(k)/IRA)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Investment Advisory & Financial Planning

Keywords

• Retirement plan administration
• 401k plan services
• ESOP administration
• Solo 401k plans
• Bank retirement plans

Headquarters

HQ city

Allen

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. 401k Plan Administration Services: Leverage Retirement provides 401k plan administration services to employers. The company creates and manages company 401k programs, offering plan setup, ongoing management, and compliance support. Revenue is generated through fees for plan administration services to business clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Leverage Retirement administers 401k and ESOP plans for businesses, banks, and entrepreneurs, providing plan setup, ongoing administration, compliance support, and participant services. Core offerings include traditional and Roth 401k programs with employer matching, Solo 401k plans for self-employed individuals, and leveraged or non-leveraged ESOPs for C and S corporations. The company delivers these services through a 100% digital onboarding process paired with live expert support via chat, email, and phone.

Product overview

Leverage Retirement is a 401k and ESOP provider offering a comprehensive suite of retirement planning products and services. The core offerings include traditional 401k programs with employer matching and Roth options, ESOP structures (both leveraged and non-leveraged) for C and S corporations, and Solo 401k plans for self-employed individuals. Supporting services include distribution handling, required minimum distributions, hardship withdrawals, rollover deposits, ESOP diversification, and ESOP installment payments. The company also provides a Money Talk educational blog and specialized services for banking institutions. The platform operates 100% digitally with expert support available throughout the onboarding and management process.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 401k Programs Employer-sponsored 401k retirement savings plans with traditional and Roth options, customizable contribution limits, employer matching, and digital onboarding for companies of all sizes.
• ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) Employee stock ownership plans in leveraged and non-leveraged structures for C-corporations and S-corporations, enabling companies to give employees an ownership interest through company shares.
• Solo 401k Self-directed 401k for entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and business owners without employees, allowing them to act as both employee and employer for maximum tax-advantaged savings with flexible contribution limits.
• Bank 401k Services Specialized 401k programs for banks, including private, public, commercial, community, credit union, national, regional, online, and retail banking institutions, with support for private and public stock options.
• Distribution Withdrawal service for taking money from retirement accounts, with automatic 401k closure upon balance depletion when no longer employed with the sponsoring company.
• Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Service for initiating minimum withdrawals required by the IRS for account holders age 73 or older, allowing any withdrawal amount as long as the minimum is met.
• Hardship Withdrawal Distribution service for immediate and heavy financial needs such as medical expenses, eviction prevention, funeral costs, or home repairs, subject to IRS criteria and plan authorization.
• Rollover Deposit Service for moving retirement funds from a previous 401k or IRA into the current employer's 401k plan with Leverage Retirement, maintaining tax-deferred status.
• ESOP Diversification Periodic opportunity for ESOP participants to exchange a portion of their ESOP holdings for other investments to diversify their retirement portfolio.
• ESOP Installment Service for ESOP participants with balances over $5,000 to receive equal installment payments, with control over each year's distribution method (cash or rollover).

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• ForUsAll: Digital-first 401k and retirement provider for small and mid-sized businesses, with strong product focus on crypto and alternative investments. Overlaps with Leverage in the SMB and entrepreneur 401k segment where digital onboarding is the primary GTM.
• Guideline: Tech-forward 401k administrator for small businesses, startups and the self-employed. Competes with Leverage in the entrepreneur and SMB segments using a fully digital, low-fee model rather than Leverage's digital-plus-expert approach.

Direct peers

• Empower Retirement: The largest US retirement plan administrator (recordkeeper and TPA), serving workplace 401k, 403b and ESOP plans across all employer segments. Directly comparable to Leverage as a 401k/ESOP administrator, but at far greater scale and with broader investment options.
• Ascensus: One of the largest independent TPAs in the US, focused on retirement, education and health savings administration. Closely comparable business model to Leverage — third-party plan administration for 401k and other retirement plans — but at materially larger scale and with broader product scope.
• T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services: Retirement plan administration and recordkeeping business of T. Rowe Price, focused on 401k plans across small, mid and large markets. Directly comparable to Leverage's plan-administration value proposition, anchored on an investment-platform brand.
• Paychex Retirement: Retirement plan administration arm of Paychex, focused heavily on 401k for small and mid-sized businesses. Directly competes with Leverage in the SMB and entrepreneur segments where Leverage also pitches solo and multi-owner 401k plans.

Broad incumbents

• ADP Retirement Services: Major diversified payroll and benefits provider offering 401k plan administration bundled with payroll. Competes with Leverage across the general-company and SMB segments, often as part of a broader HR/payroll sale.
• Principal Financial Group: Diversified retirement and wealth provider offering 401k plan administration, ESOP capability and institutional asset management. Comparable to Leverage as a full-service retirement administrator with strong ESOP and employer-sponsor coverage.
• Fidelity Workplace Investing: Largest US 401k recordkeeper by plan count, offering full-service plan administration, investment menu and participant experience. Comparable to Leverage as a 401k provider but with vastly greater scale, proprietary recordkeeping tech, and a wider product portfolio.
• Vanguard Institutional: Recordkeeping and plan-administration services built around Vanguard's low-cost fund menu, serving small, mid and large plans. Comparable to Leverage in the 401k administration category, anchored on an investment-platform rather than administration specialization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/leverageretirement
• Xx.com/leveragemy401k
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leverage-retirement-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leverage