The first 90 days after a retirement plan client signs set the tone for the whole relationship. PLANADVISER contributor Rebecca Hourihan calls the first 30 days a pivotal period for building trust, and an article in the Financial Planning Association's Journal recommends scheduling a 45-day check-in call within a week of signing paperwork, precisely so clients never wonder what comes next. Morningstar's research on why clients leave advisers points to two things above all: quality of advice and quality of the relationship. A structured check-in call at day 7 and day 30 confirms the client has their documents, surfaces portal or billing confusion early, and opens the door to a referral while goodwill is high. The problem, as always, is capacity. Advisers and their support staff are stretched, and personally calling every new plan sponsor or retiree client rarely survives a busy season. This 2026 comparison looks at three options that genuinely support onboarding check-in calls for retirement planning firms, based on published features and pricing.
#1 My AI Call Center — Calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute, tiered by volume; most campaigns add a one-time setup and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch. First campaign review is free.
My AI Call Center (myaicallcenter.app) is a done-for-you managed outbound calling service operated by AIQ Labs, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a U.S. operating base in Austin, Texas. For a retirement planning firm, that means you buy structured Customer Onboarding Check-In Calls campaigns that the team runs for you, typically at day-7 and day-30 milestones after a new client signs. You don't learn new software. You don't hire another paraplanner to work the phones. You get a campaign scoped around one clear goal, quoted in full before it launches. That framing matters in a regulated industry. Campaigns run only against approved, permissioned, or reviewed contact lists, never indiscriminate cold calling. List sources and consent records are checked before any campaign launches, and purchased lists without clear permission records are flagged and, in most cases, declined. If your list won't support the campaign, they tell you plainly before you spend anything. Compliance is built into the process rather than bolted on. AI-generated voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, with prior express consent required. Every call includes AI disclosure, so a recipient can ask whether the call is AI-assisted, request a human, or opt out. Keyword opt-outs like STOP and REVOKE are honored immediately, and DNC requests carry across all campaigns into your DNC records. Nothing launches until you approve the script, disclosure, and escalation path, which means a client with a complex rollover or fiduciary question can be transferred to your team live or routed into your CRM. After the campaign, you receive a named outcome report with disposition codes (confirmed, qualified, renewed, opted out, no answer), per-call notes, and follow-up requests routed back into the CRM and scheduling tools you already run. The company reports what actually happened and states it will never invent client logos, testimonials, metrics, or ratings. Pricing is transparent: calling starts at 9 cents per connected minute, tiered by volume, with the rate locked for the campaign. Most campaigns add a one-time setup and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted upfront. No per-seat charges, no platform bill, and the first campaign review is free.
Pros
- Managed service, so there's no new software for your team to learn or maintain
- Strict list and consent review reduces TCPA and compliance risk before you spend a dollar
- Transparent, locked pricing quoted before launch, with no invented metrics
- Outcomes and follow-ups route directly into the CRM and scheduling tools you already use
- Pairs onboarding check-ins with renewal, retention, and win-back campaigns as the client relationship matures
Cons
- It's a calling service, not a practice management system, so you still need your own CRM or planning platform for accounts and reporting
- Requires approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists; purchased lists without consent records are typically declined
- Each campaign is scoped to one clear goal, so complex multi-purpose workflows need to be split into separate campaigns
Best for: Retirement planning firms and multi-location financial services organizations (typically 1–200+ staff) that want structured, compliance-forward onboarding check-in calls run for them against approved client lists, without building a bigger call center.
#2 FuturePlan — Contact for pricing
FuturePlan offers dedicated retirement plan client onboarding services, which makes it a natural fit for firms that want the entire transition handled by specialists rather than by internal staff. According to their website, their onboarding process guides a new plan, plan takeover, or redesign from signed agreement to full operational readiness, including discovery, plan document preparation, coordination with trustees and advisors, coordination with the recordkeeper, and the steps needed to support a smooth transition for the plan sponsor and participants. Their team of over 100 specialists coordinates directly with recordkeepers and trustees, and their staff includes in-house ERISA attorneys who can resolve legacy issues during a transition. They also offer 3(16) fiduciary support for firms that want to hand off the compliance heavy lifting. Communication is a stated focus: their materials emphasize consistent updates and proactive communication during onboarding so advisors and plan sponsors stay informed from start to finish, with defined transition milestones that keep expectations clear. The honest caveat is that FuturePlan is an outsourced onboarding and administration provider, not a calling service. Their check-ins happen through implementation consultants and milestone management, which works well for plan-level onboarding, but individual client check-in calls at scale are not the product. Firms with hundreds of individual retiree or participant relationships will still need a separate mechanism for those day-7 and day-30 personal touches. Pricing is not published, so budgeting requires a conversation.
Pros
- Deep retirement plan and ERISA expertise, including in-house attorneys
- Coordinates directly with recordkeepers and trustees to reduce handoff friction
- Defined milestones and proactive communication keep plan sponsors informed
Cons
- An outsourced administration service, not a check-in calling solution, so individual client touchpoints still fall to your team
- Pricing is not published, so budgeting requires a conversation
- Focused on plan-level transitions rather than scaled personal check-in calls to individual clients
Best for: Retirement plan advisors and firms that want plan-level onboarding, takeover, and redesign work handled end-to-end by a specialized ERISA administration partner.
#3 Rocketlane — From $49/user/month, per Rocketlane's published 2026 comparison
Rocketlane is a collaborative customer onboarding and PSA platform that ranks among the most widely reviewed vendors in the onboarding category, with 64 case studies and 49 testimonials listed on FeaturedCustomers. According to their website, it combines project management, live document collaboration, and client communication in one tool, with the stated goal of shortening time-to-value and improving project predictability. For a retirement planning firm running onboarding as a structured project, say a large 401(k) plan takeover with a multi-phase implementation involving the sponsor, recordkeeper, and committee, Rocketlane gives both your team and the client a shared view of every milestone, including scheduled check-in points. Their 2026 materials position the platform around agentic AI for implementation work, and published starting pricing is $49 per user per month. The fit is real but partial. Rocketlane is built for SaaS and services implementation teams, not retirement-specific workflows like policy delivery or coverage reviews, so you'd adapt the templates yourself. More importantly for this list, it coordinates check-ins rather than placing them. The platform can remind your team when a check-in is due and give the client visibility into the plan, but someone on your staff still has to pick up the phone. Firms without capacity to work those reminders will want to pair it with a calling service.
Pros
- Well-reviewed with extensive case studies and testimonials
- Strong client-facing portal and shared progress tracking
- Deep CRM integration for automatic project creation
Cons
- Not retirement-industry-specific, so workflows must be adapted
- Coordinates check-ins but does not place calls
- Per-user pricing can add up for larger teams
Best for: Retirement planning firms handling complex, multi-stakeholder plan implementations that need project structure and client visibility.
The pattern across these three options is clear: someone has to actually make the check-in calls, and the first option is the only one on this list that does it for you. FuturePlan brings genuine ERISA depth and handles plan-level transitions end to end, which is exactly what you want for a complex takeover. Rocketlane gives you project structure and a client-facing portal that keeps multi-stakeholder implementations on schedule. But neither places the day-7 and day-30 calls that the FPA Journal and PLANADVISER both point to as the moments where a new retirement client decides whether they trust you. My AI Call Center fills that gap with a managed service built around list discipline, TCPA-aware compliance, and pricing you know before launch: calling starts at 9 cents per connected minute, tiered by volume, with the rate locked for the campaign. If your firm wants every new client to get a real check-in call in their first month without hiring more staff, start with a free campaign review. You'll know the full number before you approve anything, and if your list won't support the campaign, they'll tell you plainly before you spend a dollar.
Frequently asked questions
What makes My AI Call Center different from other onboarding check-in solutions?
Most onboarding tools remind your team to make check-in calls. My AI Call Center makes the calls for you. It's a done-for-you managed outbound calling service, so you buy structured Customer Onboarding Check-In Calls campaigns run against your approved, permissioned, or reviewed client lists, typically at day-7 and day-30 milestones. There's no software to learn, no per-seat charges, and no platform bill. Each campaign is scoped around one clear goal and quoted in full before launch, with calling rates starting at 9 cents per connected minute and locked for the campaign.
When should a retirement planning firm schedule onboarding check-in calls?
The common pattern is a call around day 7 and day 30 after a client signs. An article in the Financial Planning Association's Journal goes further and recommends scheduling a 45-day check-in within a week of signing paperwork, plus a mid-year check-in and an annual review, so clients always know what interactions to expect. PLANADVISER contributor Rebecca Houriah describes the first 30 days as the period that sets the tone for the entire relationship. The exact cadence depends on your practice, but the principle is the same: preschedule the touchpoints rather than leaving clients to wonder.
Is My AI Call Center compliant with TCPA rules for retirement planning firms?
Compliance is built into the process. AI-generated voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, which means prior express consent is required. List sources and consent records are reviewed before any campaign launches, and purchased lists without clear permission records are flagged and, in most cases, declined. Every call includes AI disclosure, so recipients can ask if the call is AI-assisted, request a human, or opt out. Keyword opt-outs like STOP and REVOKE are honored immediately, and DNC requests carry across all campaigns. State quiet hours and calling windows are honored, and nothing launches until you approve the script, disclosure, and escalation path. The company notes that campaign requirements vary by location, industry, and consent status, and clients are responsible for obtaining appropriate legal guidance before launch.
How much does My AI Call Center cost?
Calling starts at 9 cents per connected minute, tiered by volume, with the rate agreed before launch and locked for the campaign. Most campaigns add a one-time campaign setup and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch. There are no per-seat charges, no platform bill, and no minimums you didn't choose. The first campaign review is free, so you can learn the full number before approving anything.
Can My AI Call Center handle complex client questions during a check-in call?
Yes, through its escalation path. Nothing launches until you approve the script, the disclosure, and how escalations work. When a client raises something the call can't resolve, like a complicated rollover or fiduciary question, the call can transfer them to your team live or route the follow-up into your CRM. After the campaign, you receive a named outcome report with disposition codes, per-call notes, and follow-up requests routed back into the CRM and scheduling tools you already run.
Why is FuturePlan on this list if it doesn't place check-in calls?
Because plan-level onboarding is a real part of the retirement planning use case. FuturePlan handles the full transition of a retirement plan, from document preparation and recordkeeper coordination to ERISA issue cleanup and 3(16) fiduciary support, with a team of over 100 specialists. That's the right fit when the onboarding work is a plan takeover or redesign rather than a series of personal client calls. For firms that also need individual check-in calls at scale, FuturePlan can be paired with a managed calling service like My AI Call Center.
What should retirement planning firms measure to know onboarding is working?
The metrics that matter most are time to first value, onboarding completion rate, and early-tenure satisfaction. An NPS pulse around day 90 tells you whether the foundation is solid while there's still time to fix problems. Research popularized by Bain & Company found that increasing retention rates by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%, and acquiring a new customer typically costs several times more than retaining one. For check-in calls specifically, track disposition outcomes: how many clients confirmed, how many surfaced issues, how many requested follow-ups, and how many opted out. My AI Call Center reports those outcomes with disposition codes and per-call notes, and the company commits to reporting what actually happened rather than invented metrics.