Transamerica Enhances Online TPA Solution Technology
LOS ANGELES, CA, December 2, 2008 -- Transamerica Retirement Services today announced a series of enhancements to "Transamerica Partner iSeries," an all-inclusive Web-based, virtually paperless, plan administration tool for Third Party Administrators (TPAs). In addition to previously launched technology, these new enhancements enable TPAs to conduct loan withdrawals and termination, hardship and in-service distribution functions online. In all, the enhanced Partner iSeries product allows TPAs to perform all functions of plan administration more efficiently and securely than previously made available to them by retirement plan providers.
The new loan and distribution enhancements give TPAs the ability to be notified by e-mail when a request has been made by a plan participant. Once a request is received, the TPA can update vesting for termination distribution requests, review the request to determine if it meets plan specifications, and approve or deny the request depending on employee eligibility – all online. This streamlined method makes the process more efficient by eliminating paper, allowing participants to receive their distribution more quickly.
The new online distribution functionality also allows participants to provide international addresses, claim tax withholding and indicate how they'd like to receive the distribution. The full functionality is compatible for both traditional and Roth 401k plans.
Since its launch in January, and as the small- and micro-plan markets continue to grow, the Transamerica Partner iSeries has been vital in sustaining the success of this market segment. The technology behind Partner iSeries allows for an end-to-end paperless work flow which saves time and energy for TPAs so they can focus more on addressing the needs of plan sponsors, which ultimately increases the value of the retirement plan.
"iSeries has gone a long way in helping us improve our client relationships and it speaks volumes about Transamerica's dedication to helping TPAs," said Kevin Falcone of Falcone Associates, a third party administrator. "These enhancements allow TPAs to be even more involved in every facet of plan administration, better ensuring plan compliance, and ultimately making plan sponsors more comfortable with Transamerica as their plan provider."
"Transamerica is continuously working directly with TPAs on the ongoing enhancement of Partner iSeries," said Laura S. Moskwa, vice president and director of TPA Services at Transamerica Retirement Services. "Since the launch of Transamerica's Partner iSeries in January, we have improved our relationships with TPAs by giving them more control, flexibility and efficiency, which is a key element in our strategic growth initiative. As a result, we have seen a significant increase in sales through the TPA channel."
In addition to the recent enhancements, Transamerica Partner iSeries features:
- Online Plan Installation: All plan specifications are entered online via a secure Web site, which will reduce substantially the amount of time that the plan installation process takes. A detailed task list walks TPAs through the installation process while the entire plan installation process is tracked and completed online with the help of that task list. As part of the new enhancements, TPAs now have the choice of letting Transamerica handle the financial elements of plan installation, including fund mapping and asset reconciliation or, TPAs can choose to continue conducting all plan installation themselves.
- E-mail Notification System: The new system sends notification and confirmation e-mails to the contact person assigned to each plan, as well as a backup contact, in order to make sure that necessary action can be taken immediately.
- Enhanced Security System: Transamerica Partner iSeries comes with a multi-level security system that allows varying levels of access to each person at the TPA firm. This system helps make sure that the right people are the only ones getting the right information at all times. It will also provide plan access based upon location for TPAs with multiple offices.
While helping improve the everyday functions of TPAs, Transamerica Partner iSeries also has noticeable benefits for financial advisers who will be able to work with a more competitively priced product that better involves TPAs as ERISA experts and as additional service support for plan sponsors.
Transamerica Partner iSeries is available to plan sponsors through brokers and TPAs. While available for plans of all sizes, Partner iSeries will be Transamerica's sole offering for new plans with less than $500,000 in expected first-year deposits. Extensive Web-based training is available and simulations for different types of distribution help TPAs gain familiarity with the online processes. Transamerica has Web guides and various resources available as reference for TPAs.
About Transamerica Retirement Services
Transamerica Retirement Services ("Transamerica"), a marketing unit of Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company, 4 Manhattanville Road, Purchase, New York 10577, and other of its affiliates, designs customized retirement plan solutions to meet the unique needs of small- to mid-sized businesses. Transamerica Retirement Services ranked among the top plan providers in a recent PLANSPONSOR® Magazine Defined Contribution Survey and has more than 14,500 retirement plans totaling more than $16.53 billion in assets. For more information about Transamerica, please refer to www.TA-Retirement.com.
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