Online Tools Allow Anyone to Compare Plans

AtPrime is the sponsor of the @Prime! Pension Inspector, a consumer and professional online tool for determining the financial performance of qualified retirement plans.

Developed by retirement plan technical experts, the @Prime! Pension Inspector “Compare and Rank” is a software that enables the user to compare and rank plan earnings, expenses, balance sheet items, plan income, and funding ratios with other qualified retirement plans from official Form 5500 tax returns, as well as recognized financial market performance indexes, according to a press release.

Once the user completes the initial query, the user has the option of adding multiple reports combined into a printable Plan Report Card. Every Compare and Rank query is developed based upon industry, location, zip code, size, or plan features. In addition, the company said, plan earnings each year are compared automatically with five stock and five bond indexes.

“For the first time anyone can compare and rank any qualified retirement plan that files the required Form 5500 Tax Return, from the plan participant, plan administrator, to government agencies, in order to measure plan strengths and weaknesses, as well as to prepare for a plan audit or to strengthen year-to-year performance,” said David Tananbaum, founder of AtPrime Media, Inc., and the author-developer of the @Prime! Pension Inspector, in the release.

The @Prime! Pension Inspector, launched in November 2007, will remain a free Web service in its standard version, utilizing the Department of Labor’s Form 5500 database. The @Prime! Pension Inspector Compare and Rank is a subscription service selling for $99 per year for a personal license, and $199 per year for a professional license.

More information is available here.