How to evaluate 401(k) TPA software: a buyer's checklist.
Questions an independent TPA can put to any administration or recordkeeping software vendor, including us. Grouped by the work they affect, with what a strong answer looks like. Tick them off as you go; your progress stays in this browser.
Does bad data get caught before it posts?
- Strong answer: unmapped codes are held in a queue for a person to map, never guessed.
- Strong answer: a named list of rules you can read, with row-level results.
- Strong answer: a census field and a payroll check that flags pre-tax catch-ups for affected participants.
- Strong answer: routing by type to a team queue, with an owner and a due date.
- Strong answer: yes, with differences raised as exceptions before posting.
Can you show your work?
- Strong answer: a list, with which are in production and which are planned.
- Strong answer: same inputs, same result, with the intermediate figures visible.
- Strong answer: leveling by rate then allocation by dollars under Treas. Reg. 1.401(k)-2(b)(2), with earnings.
- Strong answer: yes, from year-to-date payroll, clearly labeled as a projection.
- Strong answer: a named reviewer approval stored with the result.
Do filings come from the same data as testing?
- Strong answer: generated from the same plan data, with differences flagged.
- Strong answer: a human approval gate and sponsor signature before anything is sent.
- Strong answer: deadlines computed per plan, with owners and overdue views.
- Strong answer: yes, the summary annual report date moves with the extension.
What happens when someone overrides a rule?
- Strong answer: a reason is required, and the log cannot be edited.
- Strong answer: configurable two-person approval for postings and corrections.
- Strong answer: no. AI, if any, is read-only and every suggestion needs human approval.
- Strong answer: role-based permissions you control.
Where does participant data live?
- Strong answer: a named region and a clear perimeter diagram.
- Strong answer: a straight answer and, if none, a timeline.
- Strong answer: no standing access; time-limited, approved and logged sessions.
- Strong answer: written recovery targets and notification terms in the contract.
How do we get off the old system safely?
- Strong answer: phases with validation gates and sign-off.
- Strong answer: parallel runs with variance reports until they match.
- Strong answer: agreed per plan, with source files retained.
Can we prove value before committing?
- Strong answer: a scoped pilot with measures like hours per plan and exceptions caught.
- Strong answer: a plain list. Be wary of a vendor that cannot separate the two.
- Strong answer: a reference you can call, or an honest reason why not yet.
Vendor-neutral guidance written by the KinetiPlan team. Use it with any vendor. Not legal or compliance advice.
See KinetiPlan's answers, including the ones that are still roadmap.
The platform page lists what is in the pilot build and what is proposed. The security page shows the deployment perimeter and AI guardrails, and the home page lets you run a census file check yourself.
Common questions
What should a TPA ask first when evaluating 401(k) software?
Start with your own exceptions, not the vendor's demo. Bring a de-identified census and payroll file with known problems and ask the vendor to show how each problem is caught, routed and resolved, and what record is kept.
Should 401(k) testing software be certified?
There is no single government certification for nondiscrimination testing software. Ask how results are validated, whether calculations are deterministic and documented, and how your team reviews and signs off before results are used.
Customer-hosted or vendor-hosted TPA software?
Vendor-hosted reduces your infrastructure work. Customer-hosted keeps participant data inside infrastructure you control. Ask either kind of vendor for a written shared-responsibility model covering patching, backups, access and incident response.
How long does a recordkeeper or TPA platform migration take?
It depends on plan count, data quality and how many historical years move. Ask for a plan-by-plan migration protocol with parallel validation gates, so balances and history are reconciled before the old system is switched off.
See how KinetiPlan turns these rules into daily work.
Walk through the pilot build with a plan or two of your own: intake checks, testing, deadlines and filing in one place.