Basic Capital helps employees build real retirement readiness by increasing early-career investing power, giving employers a smarter 401(k) that drives engagement, retention, and better long-term outcomes.

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What is Basic Capital?

Basic Capital is a 401k provider on a mission to truly get teams retirement ready. The average American worker isn't on track for retirement. They need nearly $2 million to retire comfortably, but the median 401k balance is just $38,000. Participation and contribution rates are too low, and it's because employees don't believe that their retirement benefits can actually improve their financial wellbeing. We attack this problem first by building a modern platform that employees and administrators actually want to use. Then we committed to open architecture, so plan sponsors can craft investment menus that will engage their team. Ultimately, we don't believe 401k should be a one-size-fits-all solution. Finally, we wanted to build an investment product that directly address the core issue: low savings rates. Embedded in our 401k is a self-directed option where we invest $4 alongside participants for every $1 of contributions. We built this product around fixed income, giving participants an alternative to equities that would complement their broader retirement savings.

How is Basic Capital different?

Financing financial assets is an innovative approach to increasing savings rates. A lot of people assume that the only use of leverage is to enhance returns, but that's only half the story. Most people have the largest retirement balances and make the largest contributions in the last 5 to 10 years of their career. That means the returns in those final years have a huge impact on retirement outcomes. Our product offers participants a way to have more investing power earlier in their career, actually reducing the risk of poor timing in their final decade of work.

Who is a good fit for Basic Capital?

Currently, we're built for employers with 10 to 2,000 employees who view benefits as a retention weapon not a compliance checklist. This works especially well in professional services, technology, and skilled trades, sectors where recruiting costs are high, and differentiation matters. Brokers bring us to clients currently on legacy platforms where high earners feel capped and low earners are disengaged or to clients frustrated by low participation despite a generous match. Our platform integrates with payroll systems covering 90% of the American workforce, and we handle all reconciliation and administration. We charge no setup fees. We'll pay your current provider's breakup fee, and our ongoing costs are lower because our technology is better.

Click here to email Scott at Basic Capital