Products January 28, 2008

Transamerica Beefs Up TPA Servicing

Third Party Administrators (TPAs) now have a new, more efficient way of conducting business – and there are benefits for advisers, as well.
Reported by
Transamerica Retirement Services has launched what the firm describes as “the industry’s first, all-inclusive Web-based, virtually paperless, plan administration tool for TPAs’. The technology is part of a new product called “Transamerica Partner iSeries,’ that will “…enable TPAs to perform all functions of plan administration more efficiently and securely than previously made available to them by retirement providers,’ according to a Transamerica press release.
In addition to helping improve the everyday functions of TPAs, Transamerica Partner iSeries also has benefits for financial advisers who will be able to work with a more competitively priced product that better involves TPAs as ERISA experts, according to the firm.
Many of the functions normally conducted by TPAs with a retirement provider are done exclusively through paper transactions that add time and complexity to plan administration. With the Transamerica Partner iSeries, Transamerica says that TPAs have access to many features including:
  • Online Plan Installation: All plan specifications are entered online via a secure Web site, which will substantially reduce the amount of time that the plan installation process takes. The entire plan installation process is tracked and completed online with the help of a detailed task list, provided to the TPAs, which will walk them through the installation process.
  • E-mail Notification System: The new system sends notification and confirmation e-mails to the contact person assigned to each account, as well as a backup contact, in order to make sure that necessary action can be taken immediately.
  • Enhanced Security System: Transamerica Partner iSeries comes with a multi-level security system that allows varying levels of access to each person at the TPA firm. This system helps make sure that the right people are the only ones getting the right information at all times. It will also provide plan access based upon location for TPAs with multiple offices.
Transamerica Partner iSeries will be available to plan sponsors through brokers and TPAs immediately. While available for plans of all sizes, Partner iSeries will be Transamerica’s sole offering for new plans with less than $500,000 in expected first-year deposits.
Kent Callahan, president and CEO of Transamerica Retirement Services, noted, “The retirement plan market is going through a dramatic change. Two to three years ago the trend for providers was to move up-market to larger retirement plans. Now, most of these providers see the value of the small-plan market and want back in. Transamerica has always been dedicated to this market, and the Partner iSeries not only validates that claim, but further solidifies our position as a leader in this space.’

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