Census and participant data
Census and participant data coordination, matched to payroll and to the document’s eligibility rules.
Plan administration & TPA
Stay focused on the business. We’ll keep the plan moving.
Sterling supports the recurring work that gives a retirement plan its reliability: data collection, participant records, testing coordination, reporting, and clear communication.
A steadier operating rhythm
Good administration is quiet, clear, and on time.
Your plan should not become a recurring source of uncertainty. We help create a straightforward calendar of inputs, reviews, decisions, and deliverables.
Testing and reporting
Annual testing and reporting support, lined up with the independent actuary’s valuation when Schedule SB is required.
Documents
Plan document and amendment workflows, including a freeze or a change when the year is not the year you designed for.
Communication
Participant and owner communication that matches the document, not a sketch that circulated in December.
Actuarial coordination
Actuarial coordination when required. Sterling is not an actuarial firm and does not sign the certification.
Three clocks
What “annual” actually means
For a calendar-year defined benefit or cash balance plan, at least three clocks run. Minimum funding is generally due 8½ months after year-end. The deduction often follows the employer’s tax-return due date, including extensions. Form 5500 is generally due July 31, extendable to October 15 with Form 5558, and it is filed electronically. Those dates are mapped on the deadline calendar. The checklist that keeps them from colliding is on compliance.
Jul 31Form 5500 (Oct 15 with Form 5558)
8½ monthsMinimum funding after year-end
Return dateDeduction, including extensions
Administration is also the unglamorous list: who was hired, who crossed a thousand hours, whose compensation definition changed, which notices went out, and whether the trust statement matches the valuation. A plan that was elegant at adoption becomes a filing problem when that list is a year stale. The life of the plan after the first deposit is after the plan exists.
Bring us the plan that feels harder than it should.
If administration is spread across a recordkeeper, a payroll company, and a spreadsheet, start there.