Agape In Home Care (IHC) aims to provide the highest level of care—not only to their community but also to their caregivers. Their mission is two-fold: to provide care for seniors so they can live independently and provide job opportunities for the immigrants in their community. Agape IHC’s goal is to offer these individuals a path to personal and professional development.

To help them stand out in the competitive healthcare space and bring this vision to life for their 70+ employees, Agape IHC strives to provide the best benefits package in the industry. Agape IHC chose Vestwell, a modern savings platform building a suite of retirement, health, and education solutions, as their 401(k) plan provider. The partnership distinguished Agape IHC from their competition and reinforced the firm’s commitment to their team’s long-term well-being and financial security.

The Challenge: Finding a 401(k) Plan Provider That Aligns With Agape IHC’s Values

Agape IHC was initially intended to be a nonprofit. However, when co-founders Tim Cooke and Alexis Ruhumuriza began the registration process, they found it to be overly complicated and restrictive. So, when their nonprofit consultant advised them to operate as a for-profit LLC with the ethos of a nonprofit, that’s exactly what they did.

“Agape has been focused on helping immigrants from its outset,” said Tim. “Alexis is an asylum seeker from Rwanda. He helped me understand the plight of immigrants in the United States. Most people feel like once they arrive on our shores, it's smooth sailing from there. Most find the opposite to be true. We started Agape with a different take on employment and our responsibilities. We work side by side with our employees in order to help them improve their opportunities in life.”

Agape IHC needed to offer a retirement benefit that would cater to the unique needs of their immigrant employees and help them realize their vision.

The Solution: Designing an Employee-Centric 401(k) Plan

With this mission in mind, Agape IHC teamed up with Vestwell to offer a 401(k) plan that aligns with their values, simplifies saving for their employees, and streamlines plan administration for the company.

Prioritizing Employee Ownership Through Profit Sharing

“We've always planned to eventually evolve Agape IHC towards an employee-owned structure,” Tim explained on the decision to provide a profit-sharing feature in addition to their employer match.

With a profit-sharing feature, a portion of the company's profits is set aside each year to be distributed among Agape IHC’s employees. This plan design acts like a proxy for employee ownership—and represents an important step toward achieving Tim and Alexis’s goal.

Empowering Employees With Automatic Saving

Empowering employees to pursue their long-term goals is core to Agape IHC’s philosophy. However, navigating retirement plans can be daunting for those unfamiliar with the concept.

“For our employees, who are largely immigrants, the concept of a retirement plan is new to many of them. With our plan from Vestwell, employees are automatically enrolled in the 401(k) plan up to the employer match. This is very helpful for our team,” Tim explained.

Vestwell’s in-house retirement specialists helped Agape IHC design and implement a safe harbor 401(k) plan that includes auto-enrollment and auto-escalation features, which make participating in the plan—and gradually saving more over time—effortless. These plan features are part of a workplace benefits package meant to enrich the lives of their immigrant staff.

A Payroll Integration for Peace of Mind

Agape IHC is committed to providing families of the elderly with peace of mind. Seamless plan administration via payroll integration was essential so that the Agape IHC team could focus on what matters—offering the highest standard of care for seniors living independently.

Vestwell’s 360° integration with Agape IHC's payroll provider, Patriot Software, streamlines plan administration for the Agape IHC team. The firm was able to set up their payroll, choose a plan design, and easily administer their benefits all in one platform.

“I wear many hats, and I can’t afford to just add layers and layers of administration onto my plate. That’s why I really appreciated the seamless integration between Vestwell and Patriot,” Tim explained. The integration enables Agape IHC to automatically deduct retirement contributions from employee payroll, instantly enroll new hires when they become eligible for their plan, and process ongoing changes to contribution rates and employee details with ease.

The Impact: Agape IHC's 99% Retirement Plan Participation Rate

Agape IHC’s retirement plan from Vestwell has a 99% participation rate among their 71 eligible employees. Tim attributes this success to the thoughtful plan design, especially features like auto-enrollment and auto-escalation. "The fact that we have a 99% participation rate is phenomenal,” he said. “Our employees have not had the benefit of a 401(k) plan in the past, and they're overwhelmingly excited about this.”

By understanding and addressing the specific needs of their employees, Agape IHC has deepened their commitment to employee well-being and financial security—and enhanced their ability to attract and retain top talent in the competitive healthcare space.

Conclusion

From the beginning, Agape IHC knew they wanted to offer their employees more than just a paycheck. With Vestwell, Agape IHC was able to provide their employees with an intuitive and accessible retirement plan that worked for them. Through thoughtful plan design and a 360° payroll integration, the retirement solution from Vestwell made saving easy and plan management a breeze. “I would recommend that any business look into Vestwell,” Tim said.

Set your employees and your business up for success. Vestwell’s team of specialists will help you design and implement a workplace benefits package that works for your unique business. Ready to get started? Set up time with a Vestwell representative here.

All testimonials and similar statements are made voluntarily and without any cash or non-cash compensation paid by Vestwell in exchange for the testimonial.