Every 401(k) plan has a plan administrator. If the plan document doesn’t name someone else, ERISA makes it the employer — which in practice means the business owner or the HR manager who signs the Form 5500. Admin316 is appointed in writing as your ERISA §3(16) Plan Administrator and §402(a) Named Fiduciary, so that responsibility moves to us instead of sitting with you.
“401(k) administration” gets used for three different things: the recordkeeper’s platform, the TPA’s testing and paperwork, and the legal role of plan administrator. Only the last one carries fiduciary responsibility under ERISA. The plan administrator is accountable for:
| Provider | What they do | Fiduciary for plan administration? |
|---|---|---|
| Recordkeeper | Holds participant accounts, processes contributions and trades | Generally no |
| Financial advisor | Fund menu, participant education, investment monitoring | Depends on the agreement — investment side only |
| Third-party administrator (TPA) | Compliance testing, Form 5500 preparation, calculations | Usually no — prepares the work, the employer signs |
| §3(16) Plan Administrator (Admin316) | Owns the administrative duties above, signs the Form 5500, runs the notice and deadline calendar | Yes — appointed in writing |
| §402(a) Named Fiduciary (Admin316) | The named party responsible for the plan’s operation and oversight of the other providers | Yes — named in the plan document |
We work alongside your recordkeeper, advisor and TPA — they keep their roles. Admin316 is an independent retirement plan fiduciary: we sell no investment products and take no commissions.
In Admin316’s analysis of 180,644 Form 5500 filings for plan year 2023, 16,287 (9.02%) arrived after the extended deadline, and 4,019 filers entered the DOL’s DFVC program to limit penalties. Texas ran higher, at 10.94%. See the Form 5500 late-filer report.
If you’re comparing national recordkeepers and administrators by size, see our list of the largest 401(k) administrators. Most of those firms are recordkeepers or TPAs; very few accept the §3(16) and §402(a) roles in writing. To check what your current plan is paying, use our 401(k) fee benchmarking.
Related: 3(16) plan administration · 402(a) fiduciary services · 401(k) administration in Corpus Christi · Texas 401(k) administration
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