Apparently some plan sponsors and even advisers overlook a basic resource when conducting 401(k) enrollment and education sessions: The TPA. “Advisers are sometimes surprised to see a TPA at the meeting,” says Beth Harrington, president of Benefit Resources Inc. in Sacramento. “That shocks me.”
Perhaps that’s because she also has been told that that hers is one of the few TPAs included in enrollment meetings. Yet she considers it a basic way TPAs can help plan sponsors fulfill their legal obligations because enrolling eligible participants is a fiduciary responsibility. Advisers should make a point of involving TPAs in this process, she suggests.
