Baden Retirement Plan Services is an independent third party administrator (TPA) of tax qualified defined contribution plans, generically known as 401(k) plans or employee retirement plans.  We serve clients across the United States from our offices in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, Indiana. We are not associated with any particular investment fund and do not manage assets; our fees are based on administration services provided. We work as a team with financial advisors, chosen by the employer (plan sponsor), to help design and implement plans that best serve the client’s goals.

Our Service Commitment for Employers (Plan Sponsors)

• Easy - Make it as easy as possible to install an employee retirement plan
• Fee Control – Design the plan to control administrative costs
• Tax Deductions - Design the plan in a way that maximizes available tax deductions
• Owner’s Retirement Savings - Design the plan to maximize retirement savings for the owners of the company in relation to available resources and the limits established by the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service laws and rules
• Personal Services - Provide personal and consistent service by assigning a two-person team consisting of a consultant and an assistant to each plan
• Education – Provide educational materials including a plan sponsor quarterly newsletter and a plan participant newsleter

Reasons for 90% Client Retention

• Direct contact between our consultant/assistant service teams and the clients provides for personal service to address any questions specific to transitions and any on-going plan concerns
• Low turnover among our staff provides clients with continuity with the same service team
• Flexibility to transition to a different investment provider or financial advisor while keeping Baden Retirement Plan Services as the plan administrator to ease the transition

Installing a Plan is a Team Effort – Don’t Do it Alone

Employers that choose to offer a tax qualified retirement plan for their employees rely on TPAs, such as Baden Retirement Plan Services, to help them comply with the IRS’s and the DOL’s rules and regulations.  The consequences for employers that intentionally or unintentionally operating a tax qualified retirement plan incorrectly are severe and could include heavy civil or criminal penalties.

To function properly, a plan requires a team that works together. This team includes the employer (plan sponsor), a financial professional, a TPA, and the eligible employees (plan participants). The plan sponsor makes no profit for themselves for having a plan. Employers typically offer it as a benefit to help recruit and retain employees. The employer may choose to match a portion of the employee contribution as an incentive to encourage employee participation, or might deposit money from the company’s profits into each eligible employee’s account.

Financial professionals help determine a plan’s asset providers (investment choices) and educate the employees on the importance of retirement savings and diversifying investments. They work with the TPA to consistently review how to utilize the plan to meet the goals of the plan sponsor and the participants.

The TPA monitors the plan to help ensure it is in compliance with the ever evolving IRS and DOL rules. For example, among the hundreds of rules to follow, one states that no eligible employee can be discriminated against-each employee at the company should be afforded the same opportunity to participate or not. In addition to helping ensure a plan’s compliance, BRPS provides consultation and teaches plan sponsors how to operate a plan properly.

BRPS provides all levels of plan administration, compliance testing, plan design, daily valuations, government reporting, plan implementation, and retirement plan document preparation. The firm is independent from any particular investment fund, and does not manage the plan assets. An independent TPA gives the plan sponsor and the financial professional the most flexibility should the plan sponsor decide to select a different asset provider, a different financial professional or a different TPA. Since these roles are all separate, the sponsor could replace them one at a time, and keep the stability of the other two.

For more information, contact Tom Ackmann at (260) 969-2677 or use our Contact Us form to e-mail your inquiry.