Senior Associate, Retirement Plan Services

Vestwell•Austin, NY

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vestwell is the financial technology company powering the new savings economy. Our platform redefines how people save for the critical aspects of life across retirement, education, and healthcare savings needs. Today, Vestwell enables over 350,000 businesses and over 2M active savers, with over $50B in assets saved across all 50 states. Vestwell's platform serves a diverse clientele, including financial advisers, employers, third-party administrators, financial institutions, payroll providers, government agencies, and individual savers. To learn more, visit vestwell.com Who Are We Looking For? We are seeking an energetic and reliable professional to join our Retirement Plan Services Team, as a Senior Associate. Successful candidates will be responsible for supporting incoming employer plan administration inquiries, change orders, and supporting multiple cross-functional teams across the organization. The Senior Associate will work closely with our internal Retirement Plan Administration team subject matter experts to research, assess, and deliver timely support to employer requests. Our Senior Associates, Retirement Plan Services support many of our startup and conversion plan employers who can help navigate sponsors with the complexities of administering a 401(k) plan, so we are interested in hiring individuals with a commitment to high client satisfaction and an ability to make quick and accurate decisions. The ideal candidate is a motivated individual who can manage their block of responsibilities, confidently answer retirement plan questions, and collaborate with the team to improve workstreams. What Will You Be Doing? As a Senior Associate, Retirement Plan Services, you will apply advanced knowledge of retirement plan administration and regulatory requirements to provide consultative guidance and operational oversight to clients, advisors, and internal stakeholders. This role requires the regular exercise of independent judgment and discretion in evaluating complex plan matters, recommending solutions, and influencing outcomes without reliance on prescribed procedures. You will serve as a subject-matter resource for sophisticated plan scenarios, assess risk and compliance considerations, and partner cross-functionally to ensure high-quality service delivery, client retention, and continuous operational improvement. Day-to-Day You May Also Be Expected To: Exercising independent judgment to evaluate and resolve complex retirement plan issues, including eligibility determinations, vesting, plan amendments, mergers and acquisitions, deconversions, year-end testing, and audit support. Analyzing client information and business needs to independently scope requests, assess feasibility, and recommend appropriate servicing or plan design solutions. Partnering with internal plan design and plan document subject-matter experts to research, interpret, and assess plan provisions, regulatory implications, and client objectives. Providing consultative services to plan sponsors and advisors, offering guidance on plan administration, compliance considerations, and operational best practices. Managing and resolving client and advisor escalations by evaluating impact, coordinating cross-functional resources, and determining appropriate paths to resolution. Identifying systemic risks, service gaps, or inefficiencies through post-mortems and root-cause analysis, and collaborating with management and product teams to design and implement process improvements. Designing and documenting processes, playbooks, and operational resources that enhance scalability, consistency, and team effectiveness. Applying professional discretion to prioritize work based on business impact, client urgency, regulatory considerations, and service-level commitments. Monitoring quality and service outcomes, exercising judgment to identify trends, recommend corrective actions, and support continuous improvement initiatives. Ensuring timely and accurate documentation of client interactions and decisions to support transparency, audit readiness, and long-term account management. Supporting client retention through proactive issue resolution, strategic follow-up, and trusted advisory relationships.

Requirements

College degree and/or equivalent customer service experience
2-4 years of retirement industry experience, preferred.
Experience in project management.
Flexibility, creativity, team-orientation, results-driven.
Ability to effectively collaborate with both internal and external stakeholders.
Strong communication, critical thinking, and organization skills.
Proven ability to think analytically & operate independently within set deadlines.
Professional experience using and optimizing internal technical operational tools (e.g. Jira, Zendesk, Asana, Google Workspace), and helping others develop and employ best practices.
Team mentality and the ability to multitask while attending to a high volume of incoming inquiries.

Nice To Haves

Retirement certifications (i.e. QKA)

Responsibilities

Support incoming employer plan administration inquiries and change orders.
Support multiple cross-functional teams across the organization.
Work closely with internal Retirement Plan Administration team subject matter experts to research, assess, and deliver timely support to employer requests.
Navigate sponsors with the complexities of administering a 401(k) plan.
Apply advanced knowledge of retirement plan administration and regulatory requirements to provide consultative guidance and operational oversight to clients, advisors, and internal stakeholders.
Exercise independent judgment and discretion in evaluating complex plan matters, recommending solutions, and influencing outcomes without reliance on prescribed procedures.
Serve as a subject-matter resource for sophisticated plan scenarios.
Assess risk and compliance considerations.
Partner cross-functionally to ensure high-quality service delivery, client retention, and continuous operational improvement.
Evaluate and resolve complex retirement plan issues, including eligibility determinations, vesting, plan amendments, mergers and acquisitions, deconversions, year-end testing, and audit support.
Analyze client information and business needs to independently scope requests, assess feasibility, and recommend appropriate servicing or plan design solutions.
Research, interpret, and assess plan provisions, regulatory implications, and client objectives.
Provide consultative services to plan sponsors and advisors, offering guidance on plan administration, compliance considerations, and operational best practices.
Manage and resolve client and advisor escalations by evaluating impact, coordinating cross-functional resources, and determining appropriate paths to resolution.
Identify systemic risks, service gaps, or inefficiencies through post-mortems and root-cause analysis, and collaborate with management and product teams to design and implement process improvements.
Design and document processes, playbooks, and operational resources that enhance scalability, consistency, and team effectiveness.
Prioritize work based on business impact, client urgency, regulatory considerations, and service-level commitments.
Monitor quality and service outcomes, identify trends, recommend corrective actions, and support continuous improvement initiatives.
Ensure timely and accurate documentation of client interactions and decisions to support transparency, audit readiness, and long-term account management.
Support client retention through proactive issue resolution, strategic follow-up, and trusted advisory relationships.