TPA

What TPA does

The TPA Experts is a privately held third-party administrator (TPA) specializing in retirement plan administration for employer-sponsored plans, including 401(k) and pension arrangements. The firm was formed in 2020 through the merger of three legacy TPA practices — Downeast Pension Services, Third Party Administrators Inc., and PACO Inc. — and operates across three U.S. states with offices in New Gloucester (ME), Bedford (NH), and West Des Moines (IA). Its core service offering covers plan design, compliance testing, regulatory filings, and ongoing administration, delivered through a dedicated Retirement Plan Consultant model that assigns a single consultant to each plan.

The company's technology stack centers on a proprietary web-based portal, PlanSponsorLink (PSL), which provides plan sponsors with self-service access to plan documents, participant data, and administrative tools, supported by an online resource library of educational content (FAQs, white papers, newsletters, COLA limits). Customer-facing channels include a proposal request intake on the corporate website, direct consultant outreach, and referral partnerships with financial advisors and CPAs. The firm does not disclose APIs, AI/ML capabilities, or proprietary data assets, positioning itself primarily on service quality, regulatory expertise, and relationship continuity.

The TPA Experts generates revenue through subscription/recurring fees associated with ongoing plan administration services. It does not disclose pricing tiers, fee schedules, or financial performance. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, and ownership and management structure are not publicly detailed beyond Neil Tullis's role as Founder, President & Principal. The customer base spans plan sponsors (employers), financial advisors, and CPAs across New England and the Midwest, with no named enterprise logos or revenue concentration data available.

Name

TPA

Legal name

The TPA Experts

Website

https://tpainc.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The TPA Experts is a privately held third-party administrator providing retirement plan design, compliance testing, and ongoing administration services to employer plan sponsors, financial advisors, and CPAs across Maine, New Hampshire, and Iowa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration (TPA) Services

NAICS

Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292)

akta.pro primary industry

Compliance, Reporting & Regulatory Administration (ERISA/ACA/No Surprises) (HLAEALAJ)

Keywords

• Third party administration
• Retirement plan administration
• 401(k) compliance testing
• Pension plan services
• Plan design consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Third Party Administration Services: Retirement plan administration services including plan design, compliance testing, regulatory updates, and ongoing plan management for employers and their retirement plans

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The TPA Experts is a third-party administrator (TPA) providing outsourced administration of employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k) and pension plans. Services span plan design, compliance testing, regulatory filings, and participant recordkeeping, delivered through dedicated retirement plan consultants and a web-based plan sponsor portal.

Product overview

The TPA Experts operates as a unified Third Party Administrator (TPA) platform formed from the merger of three companies (Downeast Pension Services, Third Party Administrators, Inc., and PACO, Inc.) offering a consolidated suite of retirement plan solutions. The core offering consists of retirement plan administration services for employer-sponsored plans, supported by a proprietary PlanSponsorLink (PSL) web portal for plan sponsors, and supplemented by a Resource Library providing educational content. The company positions itself around collaborative plan design, streamlined administrative processes, and dedicated retirement plan consultants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retirement Plan Administration Services Comprehensive third-party administration of employer-sponsored retirement plans including 401(k), pension, and related plans — covering compliance testing, required regulatory filings, and participant recordkeeping for plan sponsors.
• New Client Services Onboarding and setup services for new retirement plan clients, including collaborative plan design consultation and implementation support for employers establishing or transferring retirement plans.
• PlanSponsorLink (PSL) A web-based portal giving plan sponsors access to plan documents, participant data, and administrative self-service tools for managing their retirement plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• Majority of partners indicate they would choose to work with The TPA Experts again and/or recommend them to a colleague

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PlanSponsorLinkminorOthersPlanSponsorLink is a platform partner providing plan sponsor access and management portal for The TPA Experts' client base. Not a formal partnership but a distribution/integration channel.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ascensus: Largest independent retirement and education TPA in the U.S., offering recordkeeping, plan administration, and compliance services to retirement plan sponsors — directly overlapping with The TPA Experts' core offering at significantly greater scale.
• Ubiquity Retirement + Savings: Retirement plan TPA focused on small and mid-market plan sponsors, providing plan design, compliance testing, and administration — directly comparable customer segment and service model to The TPA Experts.
• July Business Services: Independent retirement plan TPA serving small and mid-sized plan sponsors with plan design, compliance testing, and ongoing administration — closely comparable in scale, customer segment, and service offering to The TPA Experts.
• BlueStar Retirement Services: Third-party administrator focused on retirement plan compliance, consulting, and administration for small and mid-sized employers — directly comparable niche TPA peer to The TPA Experts in service mix and customer profile.

Emerging players

• Vestwell: Modern recordkeeping and 3(21)/3(38) fiduciary platform for retirement plans targeting advisors and small/mid sponsors; overlaps with The TPA Experts in retirement plan administration and advisor-driven GTM but with a more technology-led model.

Broad incumbents

• Empower Retirement: One of the largest U.S. retirement plan recordkeepers and administrators serving plan sponsors across all sizes; competes with The TPA Experts in the same end market but at vastly greater scale and with bundled investment/advisory services.
• Principal Financial Group: Full-service retirement plan provider offering plan administration, recordkeeping, and investment products to small and mid-market employers — directly overlaps The TPA Experts' customer base but as a broad incumbent with proprietary funds and insurance products.
• Fidelity Institutional: Major recordkeeper and administrator for employer-sponsored retirement plans, with deep advisor relationships — competes with The TPA Experts in the same plan-sponsor and advisor channel, but at national scale with a fully integrated platform.
• ADP Retirement Services: Retirement plan administration bundled with ADP's payroll and HR solutions for small and mid-sized employers; competes with The TPA Experts for the same employer segment via an integrated payroll-adjacent model.
• Paychex Retirement: Retirement plan administration for small and mid-sized employers, typically bundled with Paychex payroll; a comparable customer segment and bundled-service model to The TPA Experts' plan sponsor focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TPA