What If: Your Retirement Plan Needs a New Provider?

Have you found yourself on the hunt for a new retirement plan provider? Whether you’ve experienced some service concerns or have outgrown your current provider, the search for a new retirement plan provider is dreaded by many sponsors who have no idea where to even begin.

If you are in this predicament, this blog is a great starting point, acting as a guide for lost sponsors on their search for a quality plan provider to partner with.

What If: We Never See Our Partners?

Face time with your retirement plan partners is critical to ensuring your retirement plan is in good shape. However, some plan sponsors haven’t seen their recordkeeper, advisor, broker, or other partners in years.

What is a plan sponsor to do when they can’t get ahold of their partner? The answer to this is simple — either get face time or replace them!

There are many great providers out there who would be more than happy to maintain constant communication with you. While everyone is busy, having face-to-face meetings is critical to ensuring your plan is prioritized and remains compliant with your local laws and regulations.

What If: You Aren’t Happy with One of Your Vendors?

There are many reasons why your vendors may not be working out, including complaints regarding service, errors, and responsiveness.

For a different twist, your personal relationship with your vendors may be working just fine, but if you aren’t sure that they are providing the most up-to-date benefits for your employees, it may be time to look for other options — especially considering your fiduciary duty to those you sponsor.

Unfortunately, many people either dislike engaging in a Request for Proposals (RFP), lack the time, or are uncertain about where to begin. They may struggle with blockers such as:

Dislike for conducting an RFP
Having no time to perform it
Uncertainty about where to start
Resistance to disrupt long-term relationships
Not wanting to tackle a conversion

So, how is one to proceed? Our Invitation to Compete^® can be an effective method for ensuring you are working with the best vendor for your retirement plan.

The Invitation to Compete^®

SWBC has patented a new approach to RFPs, in which the conversation stays focused on your retirement plan. The traditional approach to RFPs often does not provide clear differentiation between industry leaders. Focusing the conversation on your needs allows you to effectively find the right vendor for your retirement plan.

This should start with a meeting with your retirement plan committee, in which you discuss problems, questions, complaints, and needs for the plan you are sponsoring. Together, you can determine a sort of “wish list” to keep in mind when searching for the best partner for your organization’s goals.

The identified service providers will then be provided with fact sheets developed in this phase and invited for an initial discussion about their approach to your business’s plan. Those invited would include the team you will work with if you decide to work with that provider.

You will then ask if the team has worked with similar businesses to yours. This will allow you to understand the level of service they will be able to provide.

Finally, you will work with your retirement committee to make a decision about your provider.

It should be noted that changing your advisor does not require any conversion or disruption to plan operations. While recordkeeping changes will require a platform conversion, these providers have become very good at streamlining the process and can often save time.

Change Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

Working with the right retirement plan partners can be pivotal to the quality of your retirement plan. At SWBC Retirement Plan Services, our experts are here to provide guidance in order to help you fulfill your fiduciary duties. Contact us today to learn how to partner with a quality provider.

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Retirement Plan Services

Brad Ferguson

Brad is the Chief Executive Officer of SWBC Retirement Plan Services and also serves as a voting member of SWBC’s Investment Committee. He has more than twenty years of experience in providing fiduciary services to plan sponsors in the retirement plan industry and is committed to guiding retirement plan sponsors and providers through the evolving retirement plan landscape.