Category Archives: Retirement Plans

It’s all friendly between the plan sponsor and the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) until the plan sponsor wants to make a change. Then it could get nasty when the TPA wants to be compensated for doing work for the reconversion process. … Continue reading →

We have a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) for so many things, so a Pot PEP seems OK. The North American Companies Council (NACC), a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit in the cannabis industry started offering a 401(k) Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) to its … Continue reading →

When drafting new 401(k) plans for clients during the middle of the year, I like drafting them with an effective date of the first of the year and with deferrals effective as of when they can run the plan with … Continue reading →

In England, many of the top pubs are owned by British breweries because watering holes are an effective means of beer distribution. Pepsico (owners of Pepsi) used to own Yum Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc.) for that very … Continue reading →

Fidelity is clamping down on third-party access to 401(k) plans, which will likely restrict outside advisors from managing clients’ assets in those accounts. Fidelity said it would “begin taking steps to prevent platforms reliant on credential sharing from accessing and … Continue reading →

Missing that deadline to file a Form 5500 is a huge problem. Sometimes people forget even when the Third Party Administrator (TPA) completes it promptly. I’ve had clients not realizing they had a year or two years’ worth of 5500s … Continue reading →

When you start fixing up the house (for me, a never-ending battle) and replacing appliances or items like the front door or the roof (had to fix it again), you realize that the replacements are more energy efficient. Replacing that … Continue reading →

I call this time of the year Retirement Plan Crazy Season where plan sponsors decided to change plan providers to get things changing smoothly on January 1. I call it Crazy Season based on NASCAR’s Crazy Season when drivers and … Continue reading →

When I first started in the retirement plan business in 1998, I worked for a law firm that served as the counsel for a third-party administration (TPA) firm in Syosset, NY. There was an office worker there named Orville. I … Continue reading →

There are those TPA that sell financial products, there are some that sell insurance, and there are those that just administer and record keeping. This story reminds me of another producing TPA that is only a few villages over from … Continue reading →