BPAS Creates Solutions Squad as a Resource to Plan Sponsors and Service Providers

Utica, NY (February 16, 2021). BPAS, a national provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and collective investment trusts, has created a special solutions-focused consulting team as a resource to plan sponsors and the retirement plan industry on technical matters.

The BPAS Solutions Squad consists of expert professionals in Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit, and Health and Welfare plans, as well as TPA services.

“With the flurry of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, business models are changing,” said Paul Neveu, BPAS CEO. “While there’s considerable technical depth within the industry, some providers are narrowing the services their in-house compliance teams provide, causing gap situations that need to be solved at the client level. We saw how it was adding burdens to Plan Sponsors and knew we had the resources to help.”

While the core focus of BPAS remains on recurring engagements, the expertise of the Solutions Squad allows BPAS to dive in, review complex situations, and work with other parties as an additional business line. BPAS understands that a range of factors and simple miscommunication among parties can give rise to compliance problems for employers. “We understand the sensitivity of these situations, the need for confidentiality, and discretion,” added Neveu. “The key is to identify what went wrong, review possible remedies and take action — not just let the situation fester.”
Maryann Geary, Executive Vice President of BPAS, agreed, saying that BPAS has seen situations where an administrative or operational error occurred and the correction methodology was outside of the provider’s wheelhouse. “There are matters like coverage testing across controlled groups, complex year-end allocations or true ups, or where calculations were done wrong for several years as a result of problems with compensation or the benefits formula,” she said. “There are also jump-ball situations when a plan moves from Provider A to B, where an employer ends up in ‘no-man’s land’ as neither provider is willing to handle certain compliance work. The BPAS Solutions Squad can bring great value to these cases, either as a resource to the employer or to one of the providers.”

“There are also cases where an employer simply wants to fix a spot issue rather than move the entire relationship,” added Vince Spina, President of BPAS Actuarial & Pension Services. “It’s understandable, but with the biggest vendors, they see risk everywhere. They often say no to requests that move from administration into the consulting realm. Our actuarial and DC teams are willing to review situations to see where we can be of assistance. Consulting is what we do for a living. We’ll take a look, have some dialogue. Often, we find a better way to solve the problem.”

The BPAS Solutions Squad can also provide resources to help in working with legal counsel, accounting firms, and IRS and DOL regulators. Naturally, BPAS reserves the right to determine what situations make sense for the Solutions Squad, including timing, scope of engagement and potential fees.

About BPAS

BPAS is a national provider of retirement plans, benefit plans, fund administration, and collective investment trusts. We support 3,800 retirement plans, $100 billion in trust assets, $1.3 trillion in fund administration, and more than 450,000 participants. With our breadth of services, depth of creative talent, and financial resources, we are well-positioned to help our clients solve all their benefit plan challenges without the need to engage multiple providers. One company. One call.

BPAS services: Plan Administration & Recordkeeping, Actuarial & Pension, Collective Investment Trusts, Fund Administration, Custody, Transfer Agency, 3(16)/3(38), Healthcare Consulting, IRA, HSA, VEBA, Consumer-Driven Health Plans.

BPAS specialty practices: Auto Enrollment Plans, Multiple Employer Trusts/Plans, Plans with Employer Securities, Puerto Rico Section 1081 Plans, VEBA/HRA Plans, Cash Balance Plans, Collective Investment Trusts, and Fund Administration.

BPAS subsidiaries: BPAS Trust Company of Puerto Rico, Global Trust Company, Hand Benefits & Trust, and NRS Trust Product Administration.

As a solutions-oriented national practice, we are committed to “Solving Tomorrow’s Benefit Challenges Today.” Visit bpas.com for more information.