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If your pension administrator seems to be struggling, you're not alone. As many organizations have shifted their focus to defined contribution plans, it has become harder to find third-party administrators with deep expertise in defined benefit plans. Pension administration is a specialized service, and it requires the right approach and investment to do well.
In our previous articles, we explored the hidden risks of third-party pension administration and what strong pension administration should look like. Now it's time to gauge where your provider stands.
The questions below are designed to help you identify areas where your administrator may be falling short. As you work through them, look for patterns rather than isolated issues. If the same problems continue to surface, or if issues are only discovered after they've created risk, it may be a sign that your current administration model needs another look.
Think about the experience your employees have when they interact with your pension administrator.
Have participant complaints increased over the last 12–24 months?
Are retirements and benefit commencements being processed accurately and on time?
Has participant feedback improved, remained steady, or become a growing concern?
A strong administrator should help reduce work for your team, not create more of it.
Is your provider proactively identifying issues or reacting to them?
Are service levels and turnaround times meeting expectations?
Are benefit calculations requiring frequent corrections?
How much administrative work is falling back on your internal team?
Reliable data is the foundation of effective pension administration.
How confident are you in the accuracy and completeness of participant data?
Can your provider quickly produce reports when needed?
Are data discrepancies being proactively identified and resolved?
The quality of your service team can have a significant impact on your plan's success.
Do you have confidence in the expertise of the team supporting your plan?
Does your provider experience consistent staff turnover?
Does your provider take ownership of issues through resolution?
Is your TPA acting as a strategic partner or primarily as a transaction processor?
Your pension administration model should be able to grow with your organization.
Can the service model support your organization as it grows and changes?
How does your provider handle special projects? For example, the volume and timeliness of a TVLS Window.
Is technology being leveraged to improve efficiency and participant outcomes?
Will this administration model still meet your needs three to five years from now?
Good pension administration includes strong controls that help reduce risk before problems occur.
Do you have confidence in your provider’s audit process, such as manual calculations or benefits payments?
Have there been missed regulatory deadlines or corrective filings?
How often are benefit calculations, participant communications, or reports requiring rework?
Is institutional knowledge documented, or concentrated among a few individuals?
Pension administration affects participants, HR, finance, and compliance, so changing providers is an important decision. Building support for that decision often starts by documenting the challenges you're experiencing.
To prepare, begin with documentation by recording recurring problems using the prompts and categories above to reflect specific areas of concern. This information can help align leadership and inform future RFPs.
Now that you've identified where your current provider may be falling short, the next step is understanding what to look for in a new pension administration partner. Our next article walks through the key questions to ask and the capabilities to look for when evaluating potential providers.
Or, if you’re ready to take a fresh look at your Defined Benefit Administration, let’s connect and explore what a complete model could look like for your plan.