Independent retirement plan consultants (RPCs) and third-party administrators (TPAs) are increasingly adopting technology as the retirement industry prepares for significant changes under SECURE 2.0. Stax.ai announced that 8 of the top 10 independent TPAs, based on plan count, have standardized their operations on Stax.ai products to facilitate growth and efficiency.
TPAs utilizing Stax.ai have reported a 75% reduction in census preparation time, a 98% decrease in errors, and a 29% boost in plan sponsor satisfaction. This trend indicates a shift in the retirement plan market from manual processes and fragmented tools toward unified operating systems designed to enhance client relationships and automate complex tasks such as census, payroll, and trust reconciliation.
Naru Muraleedharan, Founder and CEO of Stax.ai, stated, “The best plan consultants understand that their advantage stems from trusted relationships with plan sponsors, not from administrative burdens. With SECURE 2.0’s long-term part-time (LTPT) rules, expanded census obligations in 2025, and fee compression, the industry is at a pivotal moment. We developed Stax.ai to empower RPCs to prioritize clients, while our platform manages the underlying compliance and data complexities.”
Stax.ai’s adoption is linked with measurable operational and client experience improvements. TPAs have observed, on average, a 29% increase in their Plan Sponsor Pulse score—an AI-driven client satisfaction metric—within 90 days of implementation. Additionally, 89% of plan sponsors expressed a preference for the new portal over previous census processes, with many indicating they would recommend it to peers. The platform has also reduced trust accounting reconciliations from hours to minutes and offers full payroll coverage through API and assisted integrations with major payroll providers, alongside AI capabilities that standardize uploaded payroll reports from unsupported providers.
RPCs of varying sizes, managing 20 to over 10,000 plans, have attributed transformative outcomes to Stax.ai. Sheree Tallerman, Principal at PlanPerfect, noted, “Switching to Stax.ai was the easiest transition we’ve ever made. Within months, our census work decreased from days to minutes, allowing our staff to engage with clients instead of spreadsheets.” Matthew Reimer, Managing Partner at MAP Retirement, commented, “Stax.ai has revolutionized how we serve our clients by automating time-consuming tasks and enabling our team to focus on delivering exceptional client service and driving tangible value. The company’s ongoing innovation continues to transform our operations.” Chad Curtis, Senior Plan Consultant at CrossPlans, added, “Trust accounting used to require hours per plan each month. With Stax.ai, it’s under five minutes. While the time savings are substantial, the greater benefit is our increased responsiveness and proactivity for plan sponsors.”
Beginning January 1, 2025, TPAs will be required to track and include LTPT employees in census reporting for 401(k) and ERISA 403(b) plans, which will significantly increase data complexity and volume. Stax.ai is designed to assist plan consultants in adapting to these changes through automations that clean, validate, and export census files directly to compliance engines. By minimizing manual steps and reducing error-prone data handling, Stax.ai aims to ensure plan consultants can meet new regulatory requirements without additional staffing or increased workload for existing teams.
Stax.ai is an AI-powered operating system for retirement plan administrators. Its Trust Accounting and Client Experience suite automates census intake, payroll integrations, reconciliation, client communications, and compliance workflows. Stax.ai is SOC 2 Type II certified and serves leading independent RPCs and TPAs representing more than 150,000 active retirement plans nationwide.
