This section reviews the fourth step in the group retirement plan process, which includes providingservice after installation and ongoing plan operations, as well as the responsibilities of the parties involved in a group retirement plan.

Unless plan assets consist entirely of an insurance policy, ERISA requires that qualified retirement plan assets be held in trust. A trustee is appointed to oversee the financial integrity of the assets held within the trust.

In practice, the trustee usually assigns the administrative tasks of operating a qualified retirement plan to either a service administrator or a third-party administrator (TPA). The TPA may assume either a limited role or full service of the plan. However roles are assigned, the plan trustee has a fiduciary responsibility to the plan sponsor and participants to ensure the chosen administrator is fulfilling its role(s).

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