Record Retention

[Guest Mike Schwing]

Does anyone know or have any knowledge of how long a TPA firm needs to maintain records - 5 years - 7 years - forever? Over the last few years we began scanning all records but we have old paper records in storage which go back 5-10 years. Items we rarely if ever need to retreive. Does it make a difference if a client is terminated or not? Can we list a specific time period in a service agreement - if yes how long?

[Guest crgravitt]

"ERISA requires records to be kept for a period of six years after the documents are due for filing, even for plans that are exempt from filing." This info comes from the CEBS Course 3 textbook (Pension Planning) in a chapter that discusses Title I of ERISA. While most of the info in this chapter is geared toward fiduciary responsibilities, it doesn't differentiate between TPAs, trustees, etc re: the retention period. Hope this helps.