John Hancock Integration Request
Follow the steps below to kick off your 401(k) payroll integration. This should only take a few minutes — and our team is here to help every step of the way.
Your steps to get connected
⚠️ Eligibility Check: John Hancock Integration Requirements
Before proceeding, confirm the following settings are active on your plan. If any are not enabled, adjustments to your plan document may be required before integration can begin.
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Online enrollment with paperless online enrollments is enabled
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Plan entry date for employee contributions is monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual (may require plan document amendment)
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Online deferral management is active
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Salary deferral changes are processed on a per-payroll or monthly basis (may require plan document amendment)
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If your plan permits loans, online loan processing is active
If any of these requirements are not met, you will need to coordinate with your Implementation or Relationship Manager and TPA to make the necessary changes prior to setup.
Not sure if your plan qualifies? Schedule time with a sales representative.
1. Complete the Payroll Service Request Form
Download and complete the Payroll Service Request Form from John Hancock. It will open directly — no need to contact your CSM to get a copy.
2. Submit the completed form to John Hancock
Upload the Payroll Services Request form into the John Hancock Web Portal via “Submit Document”
3. Testing — what to expect before you go live
Once the payroll connection is established, our team will review your payroll configuration and send a test file to John Hancock with your census and contribution data. John Hancock will cross-check this against their records to make sure everything lines up.
Once they have finalized the mapping, they will ask for your approval (typically 3-4 weeks)
Before testing kicks off, please make sure your payroll system has accurate, up-to-date information for all employees:
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Full name
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Address
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Date of birth
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Hire date
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Termination date (if applicable)
If your plan excludes any employee classes — for example, part-time or union employees — please let your Payroll Integrations implementation specialist know so we can configure the integration correctly from the start.
During testing, you will need to continue manually:
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Submitting payroll files to John Hancock
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Applying any contribution or deduction changes from John Hancock into your payroll system
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Testing typically spans a few pay cycles. We will notify you as soon as the automated connection is live — at that point, you can stop the manual steps entirely.
Questions? We’re here to help.
Reach our sales team at sales@payrollintegrations.com. We’re happy to walk through these steps with you on a call.