Can a retirement plan advisor refer a plan sponsor client?
The introduction is rarely the hard part; the reward is. Telling a plan sponsor's CEO or CFO about a way to license the company's operational records is a business conversation about the employer, not about the 401(k) plan, its investments or its participants. Accepting a referral reward for that introduction is where your registrations, your firm's policies and ERISA come in.
So the order matters: clear the compensation question with compliance in writing, then decide whether to register. If your firm says no, the company can still apply on its own at sourcex.si/apply.
Why plan advisors sit close to qualifying companies
Your book is full of the businesses SourceX looks for: plan sponsors with roughly 50 to 500 employees, run by a CFO or HR leader you meet at every annual review, committee meeting and benchmarking cycle. You know which sponsors have operated for decades, which are growing, and which owners are starting to think about succession. Advisors who also manage the owner's personal wealth will find that side covered in the guide for wealth advisors working with business owners.
What you see in the plan is not what qualifies the company, though. The company needs a peak year with 50+ full-time employees on its own payroll (contractors excluded), years of documented operations, records it has the right to license, and a sponsor such as the owner, CEO or CFO. Plan participant counts mix in part-timers and former employees with balances, so treat them as a rough signal at most. The who qualifies page sets out the full baseline.
What the rules say, as far as our sources go
Three sets of rules can touch a plan advisor who accepts a referral reward. The first two are sourced below; the third needs your own counsel.
- FINRA outside activities. Registered representatives should tell their firm about paid outside activities such as a referral partnership. FINRA reported that the SEC approved new Rule 3290 (Outside Activities) on September 15, 2026, replacing Rules 3270 and 3280; FINRA will announce the effective date in a Regulatory Notice, and the existing rules apply until then.
- Tax. Referral payments are generally taxable income to the person who receives them; IRS Publication 525 explains which kinds of income are taxable. A tax adviser can tell you how a payment fits your situation.
- ERISA. ERISA has its own rules for plan fiduciaries and for compensation connected with plan services. Whether they reach a reward for an introduction unrelated to the plan depends on your role and the facts, so this page does not answer it. Ask your ERISA counsel or compliance team, in writing.
If you recommend SourceX publicly, for example in a client newsletter or on LinkedIn, the FTC's endorsement guidance says a paid connection that readers would not expect should be disclosed clearly and close to the recommendation.
LinkedInThis is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.
How it applies in common advisor situations
| Your situation | What to check | Outcome to confirm in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Registered rep at a broker-dealer serving the plan | Outside activity notice or approval under your firm's current procedures | Whether the firm approves the activity and on what conditions |
| Investment adviser representative acting as a plan fiduciary | Code of ethics, outside compensation policy, and whether ERISA counsel sees any link to plan services | A written view that the reward is unrelated to plan services, or a decision not to accept it |
| Plan consultant or TPA relationship manager without fiduciary status | Your service agreement, confidentiality terms and employer policy on outside income | That the introduction uses no plan or participant information |
| The sponsor's CFO asks you to make the introduction | The same checks; the request does not change the rules | A short note of who asked and when |
| Your firm prohibits outside referral compensation | Whether you may mention the opportunity without registering | Point the company to apply directly |
| The sponsor is one division of a larger group | Which legal entity owns the records and who can sign | See referring a division that is not a separate entity |
Keep the plan out of the introduction
The cleanest introductions never touch plan data. Use what you know as a business adviser, not what you hold as a plan service provider.
- Raise the topic outside the plan committee meeting, with the owner, CEO or CFO acting as a business leader.
- Share only basic fit information: industry, roughly how long the company has operated, whether it reached 50+ full-time employees at peak, and who would sponsor it.
- Never use participant census files, payroll extracts, plan documents or plan filings to describe the company.
- Tell the sponsor in writing that you may receive a referral reward from SourceX, that it is a share of SourceX's fee, and that it is never deducted from what the company receives.
- Make clear that your plan relationship does not depend on the company's answer.
Questions to take to compliance or ERISA counsel
- Does the firm treat a SourceX referral as an outside business activity, and does it need prior notice or approval?
- Could any part of the reward be viewed as compensation connected to services I provide to the plan?
- Does the reward need to appear in any disclosure I give the plan sponsor or plan fiduciaries?
- Does the firm require outside compensation to be paid to the firm rather than to me?
- Are there limits on soliciting plan sponsor clients for unrelated services?
- How should I record the client's consent and the firm's approval?
How the reward works if you are cleared to accept it
Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company, and the reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed: a meeting, a qualified application or even a signed license does not trigger payment on its own. The program terms govern the details.
For a sponsor you already have in mind, the company fit checker gives a preliminary, non-binding screen without asking for contact details.
Next step
Send your compliance team the questions above and keep their answer on file. Once you have written clearance, register as a partner and make the introduction. If the answer is no, the sponsor can still apply directly without a referral code.