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Business Profile

Retirement Planning Services

Ascensus

Headquarters

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Retirement Planning Services.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Ascensus's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

Find a Location

Ascensus has 14 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

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    • Ascensus

      200 Dryden Rd E Dresher, PA 19025-1044

    • Ascensus Inc

      5832 Bolsa Ave Ste 100 Huntingtn Bch, CA 92649-1181

    • Ascensus Inc

      3131 Camino del Rio N Ste 1040 San Diego, CA 92108-5711

    • Ascensus

      101 W Broadway Ste 1420 San Diego, CA 92101-8215

    • Ascensus

      PO Box 124800 San Diego, CA 92112-4800

    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 85 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 46 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:08/03/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Futureplan by Ascensus is the "Administrative Arm" of our 401-K retirement plan. The sale of my business (******** and ******** DDS PA) closed on 9-11-2024. We had approximately 7 employees participating in the plan. To date (8-3-2025) the dissolution / completion of our plan is incomplete, meaning, there has been no distribution of funds to employees. One employee in particular is in the *** age group, but has no access to her funds to meet this *** requirement. I am the "Plan sponsor", meaning I am liable for proper timely distribution of funds. My former staff poses no threat of liability, but they are repeatedly asking where their money is. Our CPA (**** ******, CPA), and our "Financial Arm of the plan" (******* ***** / **** ****** Group of ************************ have exhausted all means of communication with Futureplan to expedite closure and distribution of funds. We are all exasperated and at our wits end. I have personally spoken with other financial plan advisors who have discontinued relations with Futureplan for exactly the same frustrations. I have been in contact with several different levels of staffing in an effort to speed things along....all to no avail. The explanation given to me was that "the *** gives them 12 months to complete dissolution". With only seven plan members, this should not be such an overwhelming problem. All levels of staffing I have spoken with are very nice, but there is no communication between departments as illustrated in repeated requests for information already sent. I have personally informed ********** that I planned to contact your office with a formal complaint if all distributions were not sent by 7-31-2025. This has not happened. I also met with my local attorney for advice. He recommended that I request an "in person" meeting with the branch / division supervisor. I relayed this to Ms. ******* ******, but have received no response to this request. Thanks, ****** ******** *** DDS

      Business Response

      Date: 08/04/2025

      Thank you for contacting Ascensus. For security and privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any client-specific information to your office. We will contact the client directly to address the concerns that were raised.

      Sincerely,
      Ascensus
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/25/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I am trying to receive 401k beneficiary monies that are legally mine .I have been given the run around. I want my 401k beneficiary money asap. Thus is beyond ridiculous. No one is helping me all I know is I filed for it in April 2025 then again aggressively starting my 3rd

      Business Response

      Date: 07/31/2025

      Thank you for contacting Ascensus. For security and privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any client-specific information to your office. We will contact the client directly to address the concerns that were raised.

      Sincerely,
      Ascensus
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:07/11/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      ResolvedMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On June 15, 2025 I submitted a request for a 401K loan from Ascensus. My request was approved on June 17, 2025. My loan paperwork submission made it clear, my house purchase was closing July 10, 2025. Their original email said my funds would be received by July 4, 2025 and they werent. I called immediately and told them that my closing was at risk. The customer service agent told me that she was expediting a new check to be delivered by July 9, 2025. This was not received either. I called customer servicer again and she stated that they cant expedite a re-issued check, so somebody is lying at Ascensus, and my closing has now passed. Why is direct deposit not an option? Why is customer service claiming different things with the loan process? There has been NO accountability for my closing missing. There is still no funds received. Utterly ridiculous. Ascensus needs to refund my $250 loan origination charge and get me the funds as soon as possible. If the deal falls apart completely I will be suing Ascensus for the entirety of our ******* money.

      Business Response

      Date: 07/22/2025

      Hello,

      Our service team indicated this item is resolvedthe loan fee reversal came through last night and they contacted the *** ****** (who indicated he would also reply to the BBB to let them know).

      Customer Answer

      Date: 07/23/2025

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  My funds were received and my loan fee was returned to my account. That being said, I still missed the closing date on my home and strongly encourage Ascensus to add direct deposit as an option. 

      I appreciate Ascencus making this right.

      Regards,

      **** ******


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/30/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I am trying to cash out my 401k from a previous employer i did everything they wanted to prove my new address never got an email confirming they received it and everytime i call i get the run around im currently sitting on hold for tier 2 whatever that means for over an hour now ive called multiple times they are never any help the sent a check to my old address before i could even fill out the forms and get the proof of address to them one employee even said uh oh and hung up on me

      Business Response

      Date: 07/15/2025

      Hello,
      Our service team has been promptly responding to all inquiries from Mr. ***** Below is a timeline of all interactions: 

      -Mr. **** submitted a separation from service distribution on 5/23/25 online. This request processed as normal and sent to the address that was on file at the time.
      -On 6/16, he called in due to the address being incorrect and our service team attempted to assist with the update then Stop Pay and Re-Issue (SPRI). Mr. **** was directed back to his plan sponsor for the update.
      -Mr. **** submitted a Change of Contact (CoC) form, also on 6/16/25. 
      -On 6/30/25 he called again and our service team attempted to update over the phone via tier 2, but he failed the ***** process and was again referred to sponsor to make the address change.
      -The change of contact form was not processed because the form was not accompanied by a distribution form. When the object was ended, it was no-processed with no information being returned to our service center or a response to Mr ****** email. 
      -Mr. **** filed his complaint with the BBB on 6/30/25
      -On 7/14, a service associate reached out to the plan's Relationship Manager and confirmed that we did get a CoC form with the needed proof, but failed ****** The service associate then asked if they would please validate and make the needed changes.
      -Later on 7/14, the service team updated the address and confirmed the correct address is now in our recordkeeping system. They then reached out to Mr. **** to assist with the needed SPRI and left a message, there was no answer. Our service team will continue to reach out to Mr. **** to get him taken care of.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/23/2025

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      This company is the ABSOLUTE WORST!!!!!DO NOT TRUST THEM WITH YOUR MONEY!!!MARCH 8TH TO APRIL 23...STILL WAITING ON MY CHECK!!!!EVERYONE WHO PICKS UP THE PHONE LIES!!!!!

      Business Response

      Date: 06/04/2025

      This plan was a service term due to a buy out of the company.
      The company had the wrong address for the participant.
      The company gave direction to force out the account to an ********************** Trust IRA.
      The account was established with Ascensus Trust.
      We sent the participant information of the force out to the incorrect address that was listed for the participant.
      The participant found out that we mailed information to them to the incorrect address. They assumed this was the check but it was the information of the force out to the Ascensus Trust IRA. 

      4/7/2025, The participant called and spoke to a representative and their call disconnected. The representative was unable to call the participant back because they immediately had another call. The participant called back and was unable to clear full security. The participant explained that the check was sent to the wrong address. The participant got upset about not being able to clear security and the wrong address and hung up on the representative. 

      The participant called Ascensus Trust after this incident six times between 4/8 and 4/25 to update the address, request a distribution and follow-up on the status of the distribution. (Im unable to listen to the calls from the Trust). The first check was issued on 4/10 from the trust and was not received by the participant even though it appears to have been sent to the correct address. A stop payment was done and the second check was sent on 4/25. That check has been received and cashed.

      Service called the participant and left a voice message for them to contact us again if we can be of any help.

      **The root cause of this issue was an incorrect address provided to us from the client.**
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/21/2025

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      ResolvedMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I opened a Solo 401(k) retirement plan for my small business with Ascensus. I made an over contribution and requested a disbursement of the excess funds to correct the issue. I submitted my forms for the request on February 26, 2025. It took several weeks before their support team notified me that they needed additional forms to be signed and completed. I did this promptly, but my request was still not processed. I had to call several times, request a supervisor, to finally reach someone who could address the issue. After the disbursement was sent to my bank account, I saw that I had a loss in my contributions due to the market fluctuation. I received this on April 10, 2025 (43 days after my initial request). At the time of my request, my account was valued over $15,800, a gain from my initial $14,000 contribution. I understand the risks involved with investing in the market, but the time and errors on their part are also to account for the time my transaction was processed. This delay resulted in the loss. I have called and emailed Ascensus several times over the past couple weeks to speak with a representative and the supervisor to discuss the issue. I have not been able to reach a supervisor directly via the phone as there is only a toll free line and they have said they are unavailable and have requested a call back. I have not received a call back and only short email responses without detailed explanation. I have also been hung up on by their support team and continuously promised to receive a call back, but still not received one. There is no way to reach a supervisor or file a complaint within their company and I am at a loss for what to do.I would like Ascensus to return the balance of funds to meet my initial contribution of $14,000. I received $13,122.90 and the balance would be $877.10. I do not need the trade request to be backdated to when I had a gain.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/19/2025

      I finally heard from the company after contacting a director via ********. They finally sent me the remaining balance that I was owed and that matter is settled.

      Business Response

      Date: 06/04/2025

      A voice message has been left with the participant to assist, call back name and phone was provided to them - waiting to hear back.
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/16/2025

      Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On 3/18/25 Acensus published Form 5500 reports on their website for client submission to the ***. On April 3rd, they notified customers that the forms were inaccurate and that we should alert our tax providers to NOT submit to the ***. This resulted in charges from the tax preparer because it requires re-work. On April 11th, customers were notified that the new forms were available via the website. On April 16th, we attempted to download the updated form and it was not available. ******* representative stated that they had been pulled a second time for further review and there was not a known date as to when they'd be available. No communication was made to customers for second delay.

      Business Response

      Date: 07/31/2025

      Thank you for contacting Ascensus. For security and privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any client-specific information to your office. Even though you have closed this matter in your system, we will contact the client directly to address the concerns that were raised.


      Sincerely,
      Ascensus
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/14/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      ResolvedMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I was contacted by Ascensus on 3/17/25 and notified I would be receiving corrected 2024 1099-R forms. After having not received them, I reached out on 3/28, 3/31, 4/8, 4/10, 4/11, and 4/14 with no resolution or timeframe for completion. As of today, I was told I would receive a call from a manager within ***** hours but could not speak with anyone directly on the phone at the time of the call.

      Business Response

      Date: 06/03/2025

      We received the updated 1099r information through our operations leadership group and a service representative has provided to the client via email and called and left a message. 

      Please consider this resolved.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 06/13/2025

      [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

      Regards,

      ******* *******

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/12/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      AnsweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I have a 401k under my job WPS Tricare For Life. I am going through some financial hardship and decided to get a hardship withdrawal to help cover the light bill. I went and saw that I was eligible for 200 something dollars which would have been a great help. I went and applied for the withdrawl and submitted the request on a Tuesday I paid $30.00 rush fee which is indicated on the paystub. That FRIDAY I called the call center and as always they are the worst. The first ***** LIED and said I did not pay the rush fee, and then she states that she cannot disclose the amount of the check. I asked were the fee's out of the amount or of my 401k she didn't know that either. The week goes by and I call back I'm then told the check is ***** so this company took 180 something dollars of the money and sent me a $34 check THEY ATE off of my money. I called back for assistance again but the TERRIBLE African American ( as i am african american myself ) female *****s either hung up or placed me on hold and told me that the manager would call and no one has called. This company is a scam and although I know the company is never going to come to a resolution I HATE THAT MY JOB USES THIS COMPANY they have law suits against them and do not care about US . they just want to hold your money I AM STILL WAITING ON THE CALL BACK .

      Business Response

      Date: 07/31/2025

      Thank you for contacting Ascensus. For security and privacy reasons, we are unable to provide any client-specific information to your office. Even though you have closed this matter in your system, we will contact the client directly to address the concerns that were raised.


      Sincerely,
      Ascensus
    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/08/2025

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      UnansweredMore info

      Complaint statuses

      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      July 2024 ******** told our business that they were transferring the multiple partner SEP ***** to a new custodial company, we could not find enough information out about this company Ascensus since the transfer had yet to occur and until it did we then found out how horrible they are. They never had SEP *** accounts before and they were not ready for this business. ******** made their life easier yet made those lives of their customers, especially those like prolenea who have had a SEP *** with Vanguard for over 10 years, were impacted negatively. Their choice in companies has affected us greatly and until using them we would not know the questions to ask. Ascensus has a very limited list of investment options, their forms are spreadsheets that are very unprofessional not formalized to show the companies information, and they are not part of ***** meaning now that we have decided to leave them they only have the option to liquidate the funds and send a CHECK!! What antiquated company did ******** choose to move multiple participant SEP ***s to. So very disappointing after all these years. Since the company allowed electronic transfers into Ascensus we are demanding they find a way to transfer monies in a day electronically and to kind/like funds. We do not want them to liquidate the funds and write a check. Their process has no guarantees as to how long it would take and a check could easily be lost in the mail for weeks or months meaning we could lose a ton of money, this does not happen with most investment brokers because the market is so unpredictable, adding days weeks and months to this process is unacceptable. There is not an option for overnight and we have no idea when the funds would actually be sold and based on how the market is now even just a few days could negatively impact the customers. There is no governing of the process meaning we and our new custodial broker would have to manually and even now you can't reach someone wo a long wait.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/12/2025

      Ascensus has contacted us and sent an email with an option to handle our transfer of money in our *************** using a check issued within a day or two and then overnight that check to our new SEP *** custodian instead of what all other SEP *** custodians do which is electronically transfer the money to the new custodian as "like" accounts which means in this volatile market we have the chance of losing thousands of dollars using this antiquated method. Since the money went into the Ascensus account through the electronic transfer method, no one told us this would not be an option if we wanted to use another SEP *** custodian.  We are not happy with the companies response, though it minimizes the impact it does not remove it. 

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/23/2025

      Ascensus has contacted us and we are reviewing our options.  They are still not able to complete our request to our satisfaction so again we are reviewing the options they have given us.  They should have never accepted Vanguard clients for their SEP *** products without having all of the same features as we had with Vanguard.  This has been a disappointment that could cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

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