Pentegra, ADP Partner to Provide 3(16) Services to Plan Sponsors

Pentegra, a provider of retirement plan and fiduciary outsourcing solutions to organizations nationwide, announced its enterprise partnership with ADP Retirement Services to offer 3(16) Fiduciary Solutions to complement ADP’s retirement recordkeeping services.

The new solution helps businesses of all sizes reduce administrative responsibilities, simplify retirement plan complexities and minimize risk. The solution will provide ADP 401(k) clients with the ability to outsource key retirement plan administrative duties.

Pentegra President and CEO John Pinto says, “Employers are fiduciaries, legally responsible for running their plan. Most plan mistakes involve administration—and these mistakes have very real, legal consequences. By combining our fiduciary solution with ADP’s recordkeeping platform, we can make offering a retirement plan less burdensome for the business owner by transferring the responsibility to Pentegra.  We feel strongly that no matter the plan size, whether $1 million or $50 million, we can help them reduce risk and provide better outcomes.”

Kristin Andreski, general manager of ADP Retirement Services, says, “We leverage innovation to help drive plan efficiency and improve outcomes for participants, while providing plan sponsors with access to solutions that reduce administrative risk and save them valuable time. We believe that our relationship with Pentegra truly helps accomplish those objectives.”

Over the past several years, many third-party administrators (TPAs) have marketed themselves as willing to be 3(16) fiduciary plan administrators for plan sponsors. According to Kasey Price, head of institutional sales for FuturePlan at Ascensus in Augusta, Georgia, a 3(16) plan administrator takes on fiduciary responsibility for the administrative tasks for an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan.

According to Price, TPAs that assume the role of a 3(16) administrator take on all administrative tasks in accordance with the plan document. “Tasks would also include determining participant eligibility, issuing all required notices to participants and regulators, and calculating matching contributions,” she says.

The hiring of a 3(16) administrator can aid the plan sponsor by freeing up time to focus on company business. According to Price, the biggest value in hiring a 3(16) administrator is that it keeps plan transactions clean.