Responsibilities of the Plan Administrator

Madison Pension Services, Inc. designs, implements and helps run successful retirement programs. As your Third Party Administrator (TPA), we also assist with the administration and compliance aspects of your retirement plan. Madison has a long history of customized plan design solutions that are tailored to meet your company’s business needs and strategic plans.

Important Definitions:

Plan Sponsor: The Plan Sponsor is the person or entity (generally the employer) who makes the plan available to its employees.

TPA (Third Party Administrator): A firm engaged by the Plan Administrator to perform the ministerial administrative responsibilities of the plan.

Plan Administrator: The person who is identified in the plan document as having responsibility for running the plan. It could be the employer, a committee of employees, a company executive, or someone hired for that purpose. If the name of the Administrator is not in the plan document, the employer is considered to be the Plan Administrator.
It is important to note that the Plan Administrator has key roles and responsibilities in order to successfully run a retirement plan. The Plan Administrator must:
- Determine who is eligible for the plan and what benefits are due or provide accurate data to the TPA firm in order to accomplish this.
- Distribute summary plan descriptions, summary annual reports, and statements of vested benefits to participants and beneficiaries.
- Maintain proper plan records.
- Review, sign and mail a completed Annual Form 5500 to the EBSA. For plans with over 100 participants, engage an in-dependent qualified public accountant to audit the plan’s financial records.

As your TPA, we can provide assistance in these areas, but that does not relinquish your responsibilities. Ultimately, you, the plan ad-ministrator, are responsible for your plan. This is why at Madison, we think of the TPA relationship as a partnership. We’ve success-fully managed retirement plans with thousands of companies for over thirty years, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with you. Do not hesitate to call your Madison Pension Consultant with any questions.

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