The first 30 to 90 days after a retirement plan client signs are when the relationship either takes root or starts to fray. Morningstar research cited by the Financial Planning Association lists the top two reasons clients leave an adviser as the quality of advice and the quality of the relationship, and the FPA recommends scheduling a 45-day check-in call within a week of signing paperwork, plus a mid-year check-in and an annual review, so clients never have to wonder what comes next. PLANADVISER makes a similar point for 401(k) clients: the first month should focus on building trust, answering questions, and setting expectations through a prescheduled meeting cadence. The problem for most retirement planning firms is capacity. Your advisers and client service staff are already stretched, and personally calling every new plan sponsor rarely survives a busy week. That's where dedicated tools and services earn their place. Some run structured check-in calls for you against your approved client lists. Others coordinate the onboarding workflow and keep every stakeholder on schedule. This 2026 comparison covers 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 flat monthly management fee, all 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 out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a U.S. operating base in Austin, Texas. For retirement planning firms, that means you buy structured Customer Onboarding Check-In Call 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 and you don't hire more staff. You get a campaign with one clear goal, quoted before it launches. What sets this service apart is list discipline. Campaigns run only against approved, permissioned, or reviewed contact lists, never indiscriminate cold calling. List sources and consent records are checked before launch, 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. AI-generated voices are treated as artificial voices under the TCPA, with prior express consent required. Every call includes AI disclosure, keyword opt-outs (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, so a plan sponsor with a complex question can be routed to your team live or into your CRM. After the campaign, you get 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. Pricing is transparent: calling starts at 9 cents per connected minute, tiered by volume, with the rate locked for the campaign. No per-seat charges, no platform bill, and no invented metrics.
Pros
- Managed service, so no new software for your team to learn or maintain
- Strict list and consent discipline reduces TCPA and compliance risk
- Transparent, locked pricing quoted before launch with no invented metrics
- Follow-ups and hot leads route directly into your existing CRM and scheduling tools
Cons
- It's a managed calling service, not a full practice management system, so you still need your CRM for plan and account work
- Requires approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists; purchased lists without consent records are typically declined
- Each campaign is scoped around one clear goal, so complex multi-purpose workflows need to be split
Best for: Retirement planning firms and multi-location advisory practices (typically 1–200+ staff) that want structured, compliance-forward onboarding check-in calls run for them against approved client lists, without hiring more administrative staff.
#2 FuturePlan — Contact for pricing
FuturePlan is a retirement plan services provider that builds client onboarding directly into its service offering, which makes it a natural fit for firms that want the check-in cadence handled by experienced plan professionals rather than software. According to their website, the onboarding process guides a new plan, plan takeover, or redesign from signed agreement to full operational readiness, covering discovery, plan document preparation, coordination with trustees and advisors, and coordination with the recordkeeper. Their published approach emphasizes defined transition milestones that keep work progressing and expectations clear, along with consistent updates and proactive communication so plan sponsors and advisors stay informed from start to finish. A team of over 100 specialists coordinates directly with recordkeepers and trustees, and the company reports in-house ERISA attorneys who resolve legacy issues during transition. FuturePlan states it is trusted as a partner responsible for the success of more than 20,000 clients and offers 3(16) fiduciary support to handle compliance signing. The honest caveat: FuturePlan is a full-service retirement plan onboarding provider, not a calling tool. Check-ins happen as part of a coordinated human-led implementation, and there is no published per-call pricing, so budgeting requires a conversation. Firms that want to keep plan administration in-house but automate the call cadence will need to pair this with a dedicated calling service.
Pros
- Deep ERISA and plan administration expertise, including in-house attorneys
- Milestone-based onboarding keeps clients informed and expectations clear
- Coordinates directly with recordkeepers and trustees to reduce handoff friction
Cons
- Not a calling tool; check-ins depend on staff capacity
- Pricing is not published, so budgeting requires a conversation
- Built for plan administration, so firms keeping administration in-house get only part of the picture
Best for: Retirement planning firms that want onboarding check-ins handled by experienced plan administration specialists as part of a full-service implementation, especially for plan takeovers and complex designs.
#3 Rocketlane — From $49/user/month
Rocketlane is a collaborative customer onboarding and PSA platform that ranks among the most widely reviewed vendors in the 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 retirement planning firms running onboarding as a structured project, say for a large institutional plan sponsor with a multi-phase implementation, Rocketlane gives both your team and the client a shared view of every milestone, including scheduled check-in points. Their blog positions the platform around agentic AI for implementation work, and published starting pricing is $49 per user per month. The client-facing portal and shared progress tracking are genuine strengths when multiple stakeholders need visibility into where the transition stands. The honest caveat: Rocketlane is built for SaaS and services implementation teams, not retirement-plan-specific workflows like plan document gathering or fiduciary review calls. You'll need to adapt the workflows yourself, and the platform coordinates check-ins rather than placing calls. Firms without staff 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-plan-specific; 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 transitions that need project structure and client visibility rather than automated calling.
Onboarding check-in calls are one of the highest-leverage habits a retirement planning firm can build. The FPA recommends scheduling a 45-day check-in within a week of signing, and Morningstar's research on why clients leave advisers points squarely at relationship quality. The question is who makes the calls. If you want them placed for you, with consent records checked, AI disclosure on every call, and outcome reports routed back into your CRM, My AI Call Center is the clear pick, with calling starting at 9¢ per connected minute and your first campaign review free. If you'd rather hand the whole plan transition to specialists, FuturePlan builds check-ins into a full-service onboarding process. And if your team wants project structure and client visibility around complex transitions, Rocketlane coordinates the milestones at $49 per user per month. Whichever route you take, don't let the first 90 days go quiet. Plan your first campaign at myaicallcenter.app and find out what a structured check-in cadence does for client retention.
Frequently asked questions
When should a retirement planning firm make its first onboarding check-in call?
The Financial Planning Association recommends scheduling a 45-day check-in call within a week of the client signing paperwork, along with a mid-year check-in five months after signing and an annual review 11 months after signing. PLANADVISER similarly emphasizes that the first 30 days set the tone for the entire relationship. My AI Call Center structures its onboarding check-in campaigns around day-7 and day-30 milestones, which catches document and portal issues early, before a new plan sponsor starts second-guessing the decision.
What makes My AI Call Center different from a CRM that reminds my team to call?
My AI Call Center is a managed service that actually places the calls for you, against approved, permissioned, or reviewed lists only. A CRM like the onboarding workflows described in industry research reminds your staff when to pick up the phone; My AI Call Center runs the campaign, handles AI disclosure and opt-outs, and routes outcomes like confirmed, qualified, and follow-up requests back into your existing CRM and scheduling tools. You still need your CRM for account and plan work, but the calling capacity is handled for you.
Is it compliant to use AI voices for client check-in calls?
My AI Call Center treats AI-generated voices as artificial voices under the TCPA, which means prior express consent is required before calls run. Every call includes AI disclosure, recipients can ask if the call is AI-assisted, request a human, or opt out, and keyword opt-outs (STOP and REVOKE) are honored immediately. DNC requests carry across all campaigns into your DNC records, and state-specific quiet hours and registration rules are honored. The company recommends clients obtain appropriate legal guidance before launch, since requirements vary by location, industry, and contact type.
How much do onboarding check-in call campaigns cost?
My AI Call Center's calling starts at 9¢ per connected minute, tiered by volume, with the rate locked for the campaign so it doesn't move mid-run. Most campaigns add a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly management fee, both quoted before launch. There are no per-seat charges and no platform bill, and the first campaign review is free, so you know the full number before approving anything. FuturePlan and Rocketlane price differently: FuturePlan requires a conversation, and Rocketlane starts at $49 per user per month.
Can check-in calls handle a plan sponsor with a complex question?
Yes, but by routing, not by improvising. Before any campaign launches, you approve the script, disclosure, opt-out handling, and escalation path. When a call surfaces something that needs a human, such as a plan sponsor with a detailed allocation or fiduciary question, the call can transfer to your team live or land in your CRM as a routed follow-up with per-call notes. The campaign's job is to confirm, qualify, and surface issues; your advisers handle the advice.
What kind of reporting do I get after a check-in call campaign?
You receive a named outcome report with disposition codes such as confirmed, qualified, opted out, and no answer, along with per-call notes, routed follow-up requests, a dispositioned contact list, outcome counts, a completion and coverage report, and opt-out and DNC logs. The company's stated policy is that it reports what actually happened and will never invent client logos, testimonials, metrics, or ratings, so the numbers you see reflect real call outcomes.
Do I need to buy new software to use My AI Call Center?
No. My AI Call Center is a managed service, not a platform you log into and operate. You buy campaigns that the team runs for you, each scoped around one clear goal and quoted before launch. Outcomes, bookings, and follow-up requests route back into the CRM and scheduling tools you already run, so there's nothing new for your staff to learn. The trade-off is that it isn't a practice management system, so you'll still use your existing tools for plan and account administration.