Our leadership team tackles tough questions from plan sponsors like you.
Frequently Asked Questions:
A: With vendors merging, exiting, rebranding, and evolving fast, keeping up with industry changes can be overwhelming. Yet these shifts can have real consequences for your plan’s service levels, costs, and vendor alignment over time. SBA actively tracks provider movement and market trends to help you make sense of what matters for your organization.
Consolidation isn’t just about M&A headlines. It changes how vendors operate behind the scenes. Some firms re-enter the market with entirely new delivery models, while others reduce their scope of services or shift focus without formally exiting. Offshoring strategies continue to evolve, and niche providers are growing in influence, sometimes offering better cultural or operational alignment for certain plans.
Even the RFP process itself looks different than it did just a few years ago as plan sponsors rethink their requirements around reporting, data security, AI capabilities, and the participant experience.
Understanding how these shifts intersect with your specific plan structure, service expectations, and long-term goals is key. SBA can help you assess those impacts and move forward with confidence—whether that means staying the course, revisiting your vendor strategy, or preparing for change.
A: Start with clarity: What services do you need, and what outcomes are you expecting? Then create consistent evaluation criteria to compare vendors on more than just price. Look for alignment with your goals, delivery model, and values. Plan sponsors trust SBA to lead the full RFP process, from defining selection criteria to scoring vendor proposals and guiding final decisions.
Whether you’re selecting a benefits administrator, a H&W broker/consultant, or an investment advisor, the fundamentals of smart vendor selection remain the same. It begins with defining your scope and success metrics. What does “good” look like for your team, your participants, and your stakeholders?
Once that’s established, objective, well-structured evaluation criteria help level the playing field. These criteria should reflect your priorities, from user experience and data integration to service model and scalability. That way, vendor comparisons aren’t just about cost—they’re about fit.
SBA has supported vendor evaluations across a wide range of HR and benefits functions. We help plan sponsors identify hidden risks, surface meaningful distinctions, and navigate site visits, demos, fee structures, and contracts with greater confidence. Our goal isn’t just to get you to a decision—it’s to help you make the right one.
A: Plan termination is more than a checklist; it’s a months-long orchestration involving actuaries, legal counsel, administrators, asset managers, and internal HR teams. At the same time, participants are often confused or anxious about the process, and internal teams may not have the capacity to keep up with questions and paperwork. Without a clear communication plan and experienced support, those inquiries can strain internal teams and slow progress.
That’s why SBA offers end-to-end support, including plan readiness assessments, strategic project management, and a high-touch service center staffed by experienced benefits specialists. Our team handles participant inquiries, manages vendor coordination, and keeps your project on track so you can focus on decision-making, not daily disruptions.
SBA brings deep financial and operational expertise to managing all aspects of pension plan terminations, from early planning through final distribution.