Press Release

Human Interest Earns J.D. Power Certification for Outstanding Customer Service Experience for Phone Support

Issued by Human Interest

Dec. 10, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Human Interest, Retirement Industry Disruptor™, announced today that the company has earned a J.D. Power certification for delivering outstanding customer service phone support to 401(k) customers.¹ Human Interest continues its leadership within the industry by earning this prestigious certification as the company scales past 40,000 businesses served across the U.S. 

The recognition is a testament to the company’s relentless focus on customer experience for employers, retirement plan participants, and advisors, including the industry’s leading money-back Customer Experience Guarantee.² To earn the J.D. Power certification, companies must pass a rigorous, multi-phase evaluation including a customer survey and a detailed assessment of operational performance against cross-industry top performer benchmarks. 

Rakesh Mahajan, Chief Revenue Officer of Human Interest, said, “Human Interest is ending a decades-long era in our industry where poor service, manual processes, and slow transaction times were accepted as the norm. Today’s customers demand excellence, and with this distinction, Human Interest is the only one delivering.” 

 “Congratulations to the entire customer service team at Human Interest for earning this rigorous certification in their first year,” said Mark Miller, Practice Leader, Customer Service Advisory at J.D. Power. “Human Interest has demonstrated their commitment to delivering an outstanding service to their customers and should be very proud of this achievement.”

A Multi-Year Investment In Customer Excellence

J.D. Power’s certification is a capstone to a series of innovations launched by Human Interest in recent years that collectively set a new standard for customer service. The company has invested more than $200 million to develop technology focused on exceptional customer experience, substantially raising the bar for an industry that has long been plagued by manual processes, legacy technology, and excessive fees. 

As a public testament of its customer-centric approach, in 2025 Human Interest launched the first-of-its-kind Customer Experience Guarantee,² a transparent pledge to deliver outstanding, fast, reliable service across key deliverables: 

• Rapid response: Human Interest guarantees calls and questions are handled quickly by U.S.-based employees, with guaranteed call hold times of three minutes or less during business hours. At a time when offshore call centers have become the norm, Human Interest sets itself apart with its U.S.-based service center established in 2023 in Silicon Slopes, Utah, staffed by over 250 professionals dedicated to customer excellence. 

• Precision processing: Distributions and loan disbursements are guaranteed to be initiated within two business days via ACH, and contributions are guaranteed to be processed within three business days. Other providers may take up to 14 days³ to process distributions and loan disbursements for participants, and may charge a fee to do so. Unlike its competitors, Human Interest never charges transaction fees⁴ for participants, saving an estimated $24.6 million for customers and their employees in 2024.⁵

• Compliance protection: Human Interest helps business owners avoid costly fines through ongoing compliance support. Last year, business owners who were late to file Form 5500 with the Department of Labor (DOL) were charged nearly $15 million⁶ in penalties, and approximately 50,000 companies⁷ were charged for delayed contributions—a driver of over $40 million in fines by the DOL⁸. For the 97% of customers using Human Interest as a 3(16) fiduciary, on-time filing of Form 5500s is backed by a guarantee.

The Experience Edge

Research released by Human Interest earlier this year demonstrates why customer experience is becoming increasingly important for employers offering an employee retirement plan. The study shows that while only 25% of small business owners changed retirement providers in the past two years, nearly half (41%) said an improved employee experience would lead them to switch.⁹ 

“The retirement industry landscape has shifted, and going forward, the quality of customer experience will make or break future success for every company in this space,” said Mahajan. “We are immensely proud of our team of customer service professionals in our Utah-based call center who deliver outstanding service day in and day out. Thanks to their dedication, powered by our award winning platform, Human Interest has changed the way employers and workers experience saving for retirement.”

Results-Driven Accountability

J.D. Power’s data-focused approach and high bar for customer service evaluation mirror Human Interest's own commitment to quantitative benchmarks for customer success: 

• Since the initial Customer Experience Guarantee went into effect in March 2025, Human Interest has achieved near-perfect results. Only two customers have reported a miss of the guarantee, out of over one million service interactions — a 99.999% adherence.¹¹ The company consistently achieves top CSAT scores, with an average quarterly rating of 4.5 (out of 5) for the year ending October 1, 2025.¹²

• Human Interest is among the highest rated 401(k) providers in the industry. With a high score of 4.5 on Trustpilot¹³, the company has been recognized as Top Rated by TrustRadius for 2025¹⁴, and is the #1 ranked 401(k) software by G2.¹⁵

• The company is honored to have received multiple accolades for customer experience and innovation in 2025, including the Dalbar award, the 2025 Fast Company Most Innovative Award, and the 2025 Stevie Gold Award in Customer Experience.¹⁰

Methodology

Human Interest earned recognition from J.D. Power by exceeding benchmarks in the J.D. Power Certified Customer Service Program^SM, which evaluates customer service operations across industries. Certification is based on a rigorous operational evaluation and a customer satisfaction survey that measures key factors, including satisfaction with the knowledge, courtesy, and concern demonstrated by representatives, the promptness in reaching a representative, the timeliness of issue resolution, and overall satisfaction.

About Human Interest

Human Interest, Retirement Industry Disruptor^TM, is focused on fixing a broken industry that often relies on legacy technology, manual processes, and offshored service models. Human Interest is transforming the way 401(k)s should work, including several industry firsts: eliminating transaction fees, offering a cash-back incentive program for plan participants, and the first-of-its-kind money-backed Customer Experience Guarantee. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, Human Interest has helped provide retirement benefits to employees at over 40,000 companies and counting.

1. Human Interest has been recognized by J.D. Power by providing “An Outstanding Customer Service Experience” for Phone support. J.D. Power 2025 Certified Customer Service Program℠ recognition is based on successful completion of an evaluation and exceeding a customer satisfaction benchmark through a survey of recent servicing interactions. For more information, visit www.jdpower.com/awards.

2. Participants are eligible for a maximum of four (4) successful claims per calendar year, with a limit of 1 (one) claim per month, and must submit a claim form. See full terms and conditions.

3. As of November, 2025, transaction processing times published on major 401(k) providers websites range from five business days to up to two payroll cycles.

4.  For non-rollover distributions, shipping and handling fees may apply to requests for check issuance and delivery.

5. Represents estimated fees Human Interest customers and their employees would have been charged with selected providers instead of Human Interest in 2024. Calculation compares Human Interest to six bundled recordkeeper providers across more than 20 transaction fee types. Total savings figure combines plan and participant savings based on Human Interest data as of December 2024. Analysis excludes AUM-dependent fees and 3(38) services. Where select provider’s fee data was unavailable, fees may have been excluded.

6. Estimate based on data as of December, 2024 as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP), which reported 20,000 plans paid fines in 2024. Calculation assumes a $750 fine per plan, the maximum fine for plans under 100 employees. Actual maximum fines may reach $2,000-$4,000 per plan for large plans and for multiple delinquent years. Additional information here.

7. Judy Diamond Associates: in 2024, over 50,000 Form 5500s included a report of at least one (1) delayed contribution.

8. EBSA reported $44.3 million recovered through the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program in 2024.

9. Human Interest Retirement Industry Disruptor Report: “The Experience Edge - What SMBs expect from 401(k) providers and why many are willing to switch.” August, 2025. Results of a random double-opt-in survey, conducted by Talker Research, surveyed 500 US respondents in a director or higher role for a business of 500 or fewer employees overseeing a retirement plan. The survey was conducted July 14-18, 2025.

10. Human Interest was awarded the “Gold Stevie Award" medal in the 2025 Stevie AwardsⓇ for Sales & Customer Service in “Customer Experience.” The company was awarded a “Silver Stevie Award” in “Customer Service Employer of the Year.” Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 170 professionals worldwide in the three-month judging process. Read more about the winning organizations here and criteria for the award here. American Business Awards are registered trademarks of Stevie Awards, Inc. Stevie Awards, Inc. is not affiliated with Human Interest. This recognition is not indicative of Human Interest’s future performance. Human Interest Inc. is honored to be recognized as one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Finance and Personal Finance for 2025. See the full list here. Human Interest received the Dalbar Plan Participant Service award in April 2025. The award was based on an independent review of 100 phone calls to the Human Interest Support Center. The calls happened on days randomly selected by Dalbar. Human Interest redacted personally identifiable information from call recordings. For additional information on the award, please visit dalbar.com.

11. Human Interest data from March 1-August 5, 2025. Total interactions include contributions, distributions, participant calls and chat inquiries tracked through customer support records and databases.

12. CSAT Scores calculated by Human Interest based on average customer satisfaction ratings submitted by Human Interest customers. Following a phone support interaction, customers were asked to rate their satisfaction with their Customer Support Specialist through a voluntary survey on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest rating.

13. Trustpilot Rating of 4.5 out of 5, as of December 1, 2025. Ratings fluctuate in real-time. Solicited clients for reviews in exchange for de-minimis non-cash compensation. Solicitation and non-cash compensation make a customer more likely to portray Human Interest favorably. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of others and past success does not guarantee future results. Read our full disclosures here.

14. TrustRadius Rating of 8.8 out of 10, as of December 1, 2025. Ratings fluctuate in real-time. Solicited clients for reviews in exchange for de-minimis non-cash compensation. Solicitation and non-cash compensation make a customer more likely to portray Human Interest favorably. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of others and past success does not guarantee future results. Previously, Human Interest offered gift cards as an incentive for customers to complete reviews. “Top Rated 2025” award criteria: based entirely on customer reviews, 10 reviews required, Score of 7.5 or higher, and must earn >0.5% of all site traffic in the category. Read our full disclosures here.

15. G2 #1 "Highest Rated" 401(k) Software as of 12/01/25. Ratings are based on the product’s satisfaction score, which is calculated by a proprietary algorithm that factors in real-user satisfaction ratings from review data. Of the 23 listed 401(k) software products, six products qualified. Human Interest’s overall G2 score is 4.3 out of 5, as of 12/01/2025. Ratings fluctuate in real-time. Solicited clients for reviews in exchange for de-minimis non-cash compensation. Solicitation and non-cash compensation make a customer more likely to portray Human Interest favorably. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of others and past success does not guarantee future results. Previously, Human Interest offered gift cards as an incentive for customers to complete reviews. A higher value was offered for non-anonymous testimonials. Read our full disclosures here.

J.D. Power 2025 Certified Customer Service Program^SM recognition is based on Human Interest successfully completing an evaluation and exceeding a national benchmark for satisfaction on a survey of customers. Customers evaluated Human Interest’s performance in these factors: satisfaction with IVR; performance of customer service representative/agent; concern resolution; call duration/transfers/hold time; and overall satisfaction with customer service. Human Interest paid a fee to J.D. Power to have their client support experience independently certified through this program and cite the results. Human Interest’s public use of the certification is subject to a license fee. For more information, visit www. jdpower.com/awards.

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