Posts Tagged ‘retirement provider’

EXPOSED…Exactly What A TPA Does And What A Payroll Provider Shouldn’t Do!

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

By Peter Macaluso, Vice President, FMi

It’s amazing to me in this new digital world, where data is so readily available, that there’s also such a wealth of misinformation on subjects that can significantly affect our lives. In my many years with FMi, I’ve found this to be all-too true in the world of retirement planning. So you can imagine how enjoyable it was for me to read an article devoted to this subject.

In Solving The Mystery Of What A TPA Does, Ary Rosenbaum, Esq. does an excellent job of answering this question. For those as yet unfamiliar with his writings, Rosenbaum correctly states that a TPA — Third-Party Administration firm — “serves as the backbone of the qualified {retirement} plan industry”. He goes on to say that “plan sponsors need to hire quality TPAs and review their work to ensure competence…”

At FMi, I’ve seen first-hand the consequences experienced by those who didn’t follow this advice. Fortunately in these cases, we were able to remedy the situation at minimal expense, and provide the professional expertise to develop the right plan for their businesses.

(more…)

WITH RETIREMENT PLANS, WHO YOU CHOOSE IS WHAT YOU GET.

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Remember the old TV commercial that stated ‘no two aspirins are alike’. While for some that’s still a debatable issue, there is no debate when it comes to corporate retirement plans. They’re simply not all the same. So before any plan is decided upon, it’s essential to ascertain a few facts about the potential provider.

The first thing you need to find out is whether a plan provider offers open architecture. In other words, the provider you choose should place no requirements on funds. The least desirable plans will force you to use their own funds. More often, you’ll have to employ funds that provide a certain amount of revenue sharing. This isn’t necessarily a negative; some of the best funds will involve revenue sharing as a means to defray costs. Many of these will even reimburse it. “The best retirement plan providers will go one step further,” states Peter Macaluso, Vice President of FM International Services (NY), Ltd., one of America’s most respected retirement plan providers. “These firms will also show you the precise amount of the revenue sharing, and allow fiduciaries to choose the most appropriate funds for a particular client.” (more…)