Companies are struggling to manage the ever-growing regulatory needs of the retirement plan industry. Even amidst narrow profit margins, survival has become challenging due to high competition. The expense and effort of handling retirement plan administration in-house are constantly increasing while compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) guidelines and new rules and regulations such as SECURE Act and CARES Act adding to the pressure. Hiring an in-house team is a full-time expense. Since the plan administration tasks are repetitive, employee retention is also difficult.
Outsourcing retirement plan administration allows organizations to address these challenges and ensures compliance.
Benefits of outsourcing partner for retirement plan administration
Outsourcing retirement plan administration is a wise decision as it generates positive returns in the longer term. You can avail of the following benefits by outsourcing your 401(k) plan administration:
- Cost savings: Plan administration involves seasonal workloads such as Form 5500 and Compliance Testing.Hiring for these tasks is a cost burden. Outsourcing eliminates this challenge.
- Efficiency: Managing a retirement plan involves data management, streamlining payroll, enrollment and disbursal process, and keeping current on legal requirements. Outsourcing to a specialized plan administrator enhances the efficiency of your overall 401(k) plan administration.
- Trusted expertise: A trusted and knowledgeable retirement plan administrator takes care of the end-to-end retirement process for your organization. From suggesting plan amendments to bringing in the most advanced technology for automating your plan, the vendor will act in your best interest.
Steps to choosing the right partner
Organizations of all scales are now focusing on outsourcing retirement plan administration services considering the increasing complexity of handling it in-house. It helps them easily keep up with the competition and control costs. It is advisable to research and look for vendors with a credible standing in the industry.
- Define the scope: Look at your plan administration processes and list the tasks involved. You must determine the services to be outsourced and those that can be handled in-house.
- Shortlist vendors: Explore the market for vendors and try to understand their expertise in plan administration for better delivery. Ensure their skill set matches your requirement and they have a good reputation for delivering high-quality results on time. They must provide a robust infrastructure with solid security practices to keep participant data safe.
- Set a budget: You must estimate a cost range depending on your plan and the required services. Request quotes from as many vendors as possible but remember not to compromise on the quality of services. You must favor the domain expertise, industry experience, and reliability of the plan administrator instead of accepting a low-cost offer.
Team up with Congruent
Congruent is the trusted partner for Plan Providers, Record keepers, and TPAs in the US Retirement Plan industry. Congruent’s Outsourced Plan Administration Services is a comprehensive service through the entire life cycle of plan administration. We come with over 18 years of experience in the US retirement plan industry.
We help manage the entire transaction processing, be it Distributions, Contributions, Rollovers, Loans, or Rebalances and Transfers. Our trained resources also manage Plan Restatement, Census Data Management, Compliance Testing, Form 5500 preparation, and Trust Accounting & Reconciliation.
If you are interested in outsourcing your retirement plan administration, contact our experts to get the best solution for your organization.
