Schwab to Provide TPAs with Benchmarking Information
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, November 18, 2008 -- Charles Schwab is now making industry insights and benchmarking data compiled from clients on its retirement plan platform available to third party administrator (TPA) clients. The information, which has been available to participating Schwab plan sponsor clients since 2004, gives Schwab's TPA clients the ability to evaluate how the individual retirement plans they serve compare to retirement plans of the same size and industry segment in terms of participation rates, adoption of products and plan features, and a number of other metrics.
Similar to Schwab's plan sponsor clients, participating TPAs will receive detailed reports on each of their own plans, in addition to broader reports reflecting all Schwab plans broken out by plan size, 18 industry segments, and aggregate data from all Schwab plan clients combined. In total, Schwab's benchmarking data, which includes both participating plan sponsor and TPA clients, represents two million plan participants and 2,400 plans. Newly-added TPA-specific benchmarking data represents more than 406,000 plan participants and more than 900 plans.
"The benchmarking information available from Schwab's universe of retirement plans will give our TPA clients the ability to sit down with each of their plan sponsor clients and provide even more value," said Schwab Corporate & Retirement Services Director Andrew Gorder. "Using this wealth of information, TPAs can show their clients how they stack up against other plans in their peer group, which will be very useful as TPAs help their clients establish goals for their plans."
"Extending our benchmarking program to include plans serviced by TPAs will also be beneficial to plan sponsors who work directly with Schwab, because it gives them a more comprehensive set of information to which they can compare their own plan," added Gorder.
Some insights from the TPA-specific 2008 benchmarking report include:
- Plans with fewer participants are more likely to offer features that provide flexibility and personalization such as self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBA). According to Schwab data, 26 percent of plans serviced by Schwab TPA clients with less than 100 participants offer an SDBA.
- Plans with more participants are more likely to offer target date retirement funds. According to Schwab data, 23 percent of plans serviced by Schwab TPA clients with more than 2,500 participants offer target date retirement funds, compared to seven percent of plans with less than 100 participants.
- The Schwab data also indicates that TPA-serviced plans with more participants are more likely to provide an employer matching contribution, as opposed to plans with fewer participants that tend to offer profit-sharing agreements for employees.
The TPA data now included in Schwab's overall retirement plan benchmarking information is comprised of 10 of Schwab's largest TPA clients including Conrad Siegel Actuaries, Interactive Retirement Systems, Kibble & Prentice, Milliman Inc., Northwest Plan Services Inc., REDW Benefits LLC, Retirement Direct LLC, Retirement Plan Services LLC, Spectrum Pension Consultants Inc., and Trautmann, Maher & Associates. Schwab expects to expand its benchmarking to include additional TPA clients in the future.
The Charles Schwab Corporation (Charles Schwab) provides services to retirement and other benefit plans and participants as well as equity compensation plan services and other financial and retirement services to corporations and executives through its separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries, Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.; The 401k Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries; Charles Schwab Trust Company, a division of the Charles Schwab Bank; and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Brokerage products and services are offered by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Member SIPC).
About Charles Schwab
The Charles Schwab Corporation (Nasdaq:SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 7.4 million client brokerage accounts, 1.3 million corporate retirement plan participants, 427,000 banking accounts, and $1.2 trillion in client assets. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors. The Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products. More information is available at www.schwab.com.
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