PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 32
micro scope
Streamlining the Process
T
TPAs can create efficiencies for serving micro plans
he micro-plan market offers opportunities for advisers,
according to the 2019 PLANADVISER Micro Plan Survey.
For one, these plans, which lag behind larger plans in
many key areas of design, typically need improvement.
There are ample opportunities to win this business because,
says the survey, 38% of plans with $1 million to $5 million
in plan assets do not work with an adviser.
For advisers, it is important to create an efficient model
to serve this group of clients. Micro plans have somewhat
of a reputation as being difficult to serve due to their small
size and the cost of setting them up and administering
them. However, advisers can leverage third-party administrators
(TPAs) to create a repeatable and fixed process that
would benefit the plans and their participants.
Jerry Bramlett, head of Ascensus' TPA business, FuturePlan,
in Austin, Texas, suggests that advisers find TPAs to
partner with that are local to the client. " Over 50% of plans
with less than $2 million in assets have a TPA, and their
preferred way to work with a TPA is to work with someone
locally, " he says.
Advisers working with TPAs should be mindful of the
role each party plays in serving the client base. " TPAs focus
on the details of plan design, and consulting. We primarily
help the business owner and HR [human resources] departments
understand and manage their benefit programs, " says
Kelton Collopy, vice president, TPA services, at Tycor Benefit
Administrators Inc. in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. " Advisers
provide educational and investment expertise to plan
participants and serve the plan by monitoring, explaining
and providing fiduciary services. Together, we can explore
potential recordkeeping solutions and align those services
to the best interests of plan participants and meet the sponsor's
fiduciary responsibilities. "
The first thing advisers can do when working with a
micro-plan sponsor is help the sponsor determine the goals
of its plan, says John Blossom, founder and CEO of ABG
Retirement Plan Services in Peoria, Illinois. " Many microplan
sponsors have no idea what a retirement plan means
to them or what they're trying to accomplish, " Blossom says.
" Those with an adviser have a better idea. "
When it works with a plan that has an adviser, John
Hancock Retirement Plan Services' TPA business makes it a
32 | planadviser.com November-December 2019 Art by Meredith Miotke
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PLANADVISER - November/December 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANADVISER - November/December 2019
Foul Weather Fund
2019 PLANADVISER Practice Benchmarking Survey
Streamlining the Process
To Surmount the Gender Gap
NQDC Guidance
Employee-Owned
Continued Growth
The Extent of Obligation
Cyberfraud
How to Protect Participant Data
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - C1
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - FC1
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - FC2
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - C2
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 1
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 2
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 3
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 4
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 5
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 6
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 7
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 8
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 9
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 10
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 11
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 12
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 13
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 14
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 15
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 16
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 17
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - Foul Weather Fund
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 19
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 20
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 21
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 22
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 23
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 2019 PLANADVISER Practice Benchmarking Survey
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 25
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 26
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 27
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 28
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 29
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 30
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 31
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - Streamlining the Process
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 33
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 34
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 35
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - To Surmount the Gender Gap
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 37
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - NQDC Guidance
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 39
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 40
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 41
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - Employee-Owned
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 43
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - Continued Growth
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 45
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - The Extent of Obligation
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - Cyberfraud
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - How to Protect Participant Data
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - C3
PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - C4
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