Recommendation to provide TPA services

[ITCONSTRUCTS]

I am CPA and want to get into the TPA business. Can anyone please provide me with a list of items or resources that i could use or refer to to get started with the TPA business.

Thanks

[hr for me]

I highly suggest looking into the CEBS certification through IFEBP/Wharton, even if you only do the retirement plan DC/DB courses. At least they used to have a really good overview of pension and qualified plans. They also had one course for executive benefits which at the time had non-qualified plan information. But it has been a few decades and I am not a TPA. That's where I would start if I were trying to jump into it.

(There also might be other groups out there..>CEBS is just the one I am most familiar with)

[ESOP Guy]

You might want to look into ASPA and their certifications. It might help to attend some of their conferences. You can meet vendors and future competitors. You can talk to people and get insights into which software you might want to use for this work.

[david rigby]

Find a partner with TPA experience.

[ITCONSTRUCTS]

How/where do i find a partner with TPA experience?

[david rigby]

Talk to those in the biz, or retired. Ask their opinions, whether or not they might be a valid partner. Just like a job search, your primary task is to gather information, which comes from those with experience.

[ITCONSTRUCTS]

What credentials should i looking for if i hire a person to do the work? Also whats the salary i would have to pay?

[leevena]

What type of administrative services are you looking to provide?

Oops, never mind, just saw retirement.

[K2retire]

Salary can vary significantly based on experience and geography.

[Bird]

How/where do i find a partner with TPA experience?

It's hard to know if you are seriously interested or fishing around for...whatever, but this (TPA) business is highly specialized. I could see someone having a good relationship with a TPA firm or even an employee of a TPA firm and wanting to take that to another level, but randomly saying "I want to be a TPA" is a little odd. I feel like we're missing something.

[hr for me]

It's like this CPA doesn't even know what questions to ask and doesn't seem to understand even the basics of a TPA business. It's like me saying I am a TPA wanting to be a CPA, what should I do, how should I hire, how much should I pay, etc? Such a very large open ended question. The OP really needs to do some due diligence//get some basic knowledge and then ask more specific questions.

[SwimmingInBowelsOfERISA]

I'm going to offer my opinion without intentionally being degrading or disrespectful.

I am not a TPA, but I work with TPAs and actuaries in the course of my business. The TPA business is highly specialized. While many are, in my experience I've found the gambit between those that are very good and those begging to be sued, and the latter don't last long. All reasonably successful firms have YEARS of experience.

Though not a TPA myself, knowing what I know I would never consider just jumping into the business for whatever reasons you have. Although credentials and education help, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed in an intricately complicated subset of tax law. You will also need a good understanding of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which is a bitch of a law to understand (hence my username). It takes quite a bit of experience, hands on knowledge, and field expertise before you can reasonably be expected to be competitive.

Some of my CPA referrals for retirement plan clients come from CPAs who discover they don't understand the business, and most of those referrals come only after they have talked to their friendly competitors/colleagues who refer me. Most of my referrals come from competent CPAs who KNOW what they DON'T KNOW.

The best TPAs I work with have years upon years of experience, with the back-end personnel to support the business. They often have ERISA attorneys on staff or standby. The have actuaries on staff or outsource to those that can handle that business. The typical TPA firms I work with have at a MINIMUM of a dozen staff with the education and background in the business. I do partner with some with less, but those are generally recognized industry experts.

As someone who recommends TPAs, I would NEVER, EVER recommend a TPA business just getting started with no experience. And when I find a client who has a "two or ten plan tony" TPA (rare) or advisor, I'll take your business away from you to one of my expert TPAs before you know what hit you.

I don't mean to be discouraging, but I'm simply relating the realities of the business. If you are serious, then:

(1) Learn about ASPPA and their credentials, and what it means to be a TPA;

(2) Determine if that fits in your business model and if you have the bandwidth to pursue a new, complex education while servicing your existing clients;

(3) Assuming (2) makes sense, get the necessary credentials from (1);

(4) Spend a significant amount of time attending conferences (NAPA, ASPPA and others) and studying webinars, white paper, blogs (like this one), and other educational material provided by more sources than I can mention (do your own research);

(5) HARD - Figure out how to partner with a small but experienced, reputable local TPA that will review your work;

(6) Build up your expertise and consider merging with (5) or relocating, depending on what your non-compete looks like;

Otherwise, you will just be a small fish with an "eat me" sign in an oceans of sharks.

Hope that helps!

[BG5150]

Why not just buy a TPA firm?