Leading Retirement Solutions' Cannabis 401(k) helps cannabis leadership avoid plan ejections through comprehensive compliance and risk mitigation support
SEATTLE, June 17, 2025 -- Today, 51 states in the U.S. have legalized medical cannabis, 28 U.S. jurisdictions have legalized recreational cannabis, and according to data from Statista, the U.S. market is expected to generate $45.35 billion in 2025. But, despite the continued prosperity of the industry, traditional banking—and vital benefits like 401(k) plans—are out of reach for most state-licensed cannabis companies and their employees.
Because they are federally-regulated, most U.S. banks and depository institutions do not want to take the legal risks to work with cannabis, which is still illegal to manufacture, distribute, and dispense under federal law. In particular, banks fear that working in the cannabis industry will violate federal anti-money laundering laws, including The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which would put them at risk of legal penalties.
But, working with cannabis companies doesn't need to be so fraught for financial service providers or cannabis operators. Since 2017, Leading Retirement Solutions has offered stable, safe, compliant and affordable cannabis 401(k) solutions that comprehensively mitigate the risks financial institutions face and protect cannabis companies from plan ejections and legal issues. In fact, they were the very first company to tackle this issue for the industry, with compliance at the forefront.
"I certainly had a lot of anxiety about being responsible for rolling out our plan correctly from a legal perspective and communicating about it with employees," said Alissa Jubelirer, a lawyer who specializes in labor and employment law and cannabis at Benesch. In her previous role as General Counsel to Revolution Cannabis Co., she was responsible for rolling out the company's first 401(k) plan with LRS.
"LRS did a great job of holding my hand through the process, project managing, and addressing expectations on our end so we could deliver the best possible benefit to our employees. It was just a great experience overall," she said.
LRS delivers such services through access to diverse investments specifically approved for cannabis-related plans. Likewise, they implement various layers of oversight to ensure compliance, including rigorous Know-Your-Client (KYC) procedures, a set of standards in the investment industry that help advisors build trust with regulators, as well as thorough risk evaluations and extensive transaction monitoring to detect and report suspicious activity. LRS provides ample education and integrated payroll solutions to make managing contributions simple and to limit plan violations.
By ensuring compliance, LRS builds trust with regulators and other key stakeholders at the intersection of cannabis and retirement savings and delivers cannabis companies the most trustworthy cannabis 401(k) services on the market. Consequently, they've maintained a diverse and long-standing roster of cannabis clients, from micro-cannabis businesses to the largest, multi-state operators in the country.
As Jubelirer said, "The fact that LRS has been offering compliant 401(k)'s to cannabis companies for as long as they have and that they invested in cannabis when a lot of other plan providers didn't, has led me to recommend LRS time and time again."
More About Leading Retirement Solutions: Leading Retirement Solutions is an industry leader in innovative retirement plan solutions for businesses. LRS focuses on improving retirement strategies by offering custom-fit solutions and nontraditional investment opportunities. Their services include plan design, plan administration, recordkeeping, consulting, and more. Leading Retirement Solutions prides itself on helping fellow women-owned businesses, not-for-profit organizations, cannabis, and small businesses, through tax sheltering and employee benefits.
For more tips and information regarding retirement plans, contact marketing@leadingretirement.com.
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