Q2 2025 Newsletter
July 11, 2025
At Primark Benefits, we’re committed to helping employers and advisors navigate the complexities of retirement plans with clarity and confidence. This quarter, we’ve published a range of new articles designed to inform, debunk misconceptions, and highlight opportunities—especially those that can still make a difference for 2024. Next quarter, we'll be continuing our "Retirement Plan Myths Busting" Series and featuring a new case study showing how smart plan design solved a tricky compliance issue.
Here's What You Need to Know
It’s Not Too Late! Employers Can Still Set Up Retirement Plans and Get Large Tax Deductions for 2024
Recent changes in tax law have expanded the flexibility employers have when it comes to establishing and funding retirement plans. If you haven’t yet set up a retirement plan for 2024, we have good news: it might not be too late!
When most people think about retirement plans and pensions, what comes to mind are the big-name players: government systems, large corporations, and the financial institutions that support them such as banks, brokers, and investment firms. These organizations tend to be the visible “faces” of retirement savings, managing assets, issuing account statements, and promoting their expertise through marketing and media. But behind the scenes, there’s another essential player who often goes unnoticed: the Third-Party Administrator, or TPA. In a previous post, we explored how TPAs have emerged to meet vital client needs that large investment firms often overlook, such as tailored plan design, compliance, and personalized service. If you missed that article, click here to read it before diving into today’s topics: The risks of relying solely on asset-driven providers, and why personalized plan administration still matters.
Navigating the numerous retirement plans offered in the marketplace can be confusing, even before considering the many myths surrounding the topic. In our work with clients, we hear about these misconceptions that often steer employers in the wrong direction. In this second installment of an ongoing “myth-buster” blog series, we address three more of the most common retirement plan myths that we hear. For our first installment, click here .
Part I: A Brief History of TPAs When discussing retirement plans and pensions, many people immediately think of public sector entities and large corporations and the financial institutions that support them, such as banks, brokers, and investment firms. These entities tend to appear as the visible “faces” of retirement savings: managing assets, issuing account statements, even airing commercials touting their investment expertise. But what many folks don’t realize is that there's another key player behind the scenes: an entity called a Third-Party Administrator, or TPA. In today’s post, we explore the history of the Third-Party Administrator, beginning with the rise of retirement plans in the U.S.
Navigating the numerous retirement plans offered in the marketplace can be confusing, even before considering the many myths surrounding the topic. In our work with clients, we hear about these misconceptions that often steer employers in the wrong direction. In this first installment of an ongoing “myth-buster” blog series, we address three of the most common retirement plan myths that we hear.
Sometimes retirement plan problems begin with bad decisions. Other times, they begin with good intentions.
Law firms often have compensation structures that are more complex than those of other business types. This is attributable to having both equity and non-equity partners, large year-end bonuses, variable associate compensation, and high contribution goals for senior attorneys -- all these factors and more affect how a retirement plan operates. While these structures can create opportunities for sophisticated retirement plan design, they can also create testing volatility and compliance risk, especially if changes in compensation (or partnership/ownership) are not addressed throughout the year as they occur.
Technology is quickly transforming retirement plan administration. Today, employers can launch a retirement plan, connect payroll, enroll employees, process contributions, and access reports, all electronically and with far less manual effort needed than in the past.