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2026 SPARK Institute TPA Survey

Introduction:

The SPARK Institute, through its TPA Task Force, is conducting this comprehensive survey to better understand the current services, business models, technology readiness, and future priorities of third-party administrators serving the retirement industry. Your input will directly inform SPARK’s strategic initiatives—including API guideline development, AI adoption readiness, cybersecurity best practices, and industry advocacy efforts.

This survey should take approximately 12–15 minutes to complete. Your individual responses will remain confidential and will be aggregated for reporting and analysis to be shared at the SPARK Forum Nov 15-17, 2026. https://www.sparkinstitute.org/event-list/conferences/spark-forum-2026/.

Please submit your completed survey by Friday, October 9, 2026.

Thank you in advance for your participation and continued support of SPARK’s mission to foster innovation and operational excellence in the retirement services ecosystem.
1.Please select all retirement plan fiduciary and non-fiduciary services your firm performs today? Select all that apply.
2.In the next 24 months, how do you anticipate plan sponsor demand for the following services will change?
significantly decrease
slightly decrease
remain the same
slightly increase
significantly increase
Non-fiduciary administration services
Non-fiduciary plan compliance services
Non-fiduciary plan recordkeeping services
ERISA 3(16) plan administrator services
Serving as Plan Sponsor or Pooled Plan Provider (PPP)
ERISA 402(a) fiduciary services
ERISA 3(21) non-discretionary investment advisory services (plan-level)
ERISA 3(38) discretionary investment management services (plan-level)
Actuarial services for defined benefit and cash balance plans
Plan design guidance
Other, please specify
3.Please select the plan types you currently service.
4.What percentage of your retirement plan sponsor clients offer the following number of retirement plan accounts (not including HSAs or FSAs)?
Less than 25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-100%
1
2
3
4
More than 4
5.For what percentage of your retirement plans do you charge fees in the following fee structures?
Less than 25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-100%
Per-participant fees
Asset-based fees
Flat fees
Commission-based fees
Installation fee
Documentation maintenance fee
Termination fee
Amendments fee
6.What percentage of the retirement plan you support are in the following plan asset segments:
Less than 25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-100%
Less than $1 million
$1 million to $5 million
$5 million to $25 million
$25 million to $100 million
$100 million to $250 million
$250 million to $1 billion
Greater than $1 billion
7.During the last 24 months, which entity type referred the largest share of new retirement plan business by number of plans? (Select up to 2 or 3 choices)
8.Who do you anticipate will source/refer the largest share of new retirement plan business by number of plans in the coming 24 months? (Select up to 2 or 3 choices)
9.Which the following industry trends has had the most significant positive impact on your business revenue over the last 24 months? (Select up to 2 or 3 choices)
10.Which the following industry trends do you believe will have the most significant positive impact on your business revenue over the next 24 months? (Select up to 2 or 3 choices)
11.Has your firm established 360 degree data integrations with payroll providers?
12.(if they answer Yes to 11): Please select all of the payroll providers with whom your firm has established 360 or 180 degree data integrations. (Select multiple)
13.(To respondents who say they record keep plans and/or act as 3(16) fiduciary): Select the statement below that best reflects your firm’s current approach to sharing participant-level data with plan advisors
14.Which statement best reflects how artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting your firm’s business today? Select all that apply.
15.For the AI use cases you selected, please indicate whether your usage is:
16.Please select the three retirement administrative plan services that consume the greatest amount of time in the form of work hours? (Select up to 2 or 3 choices)
17.How many hours per month does your team spend on manual data reconciliation with recordkeepers?
18.In the past 24 months, have you experienced operational delays due to inconsistent or incomplete data from recordkeepers?
19.For which of your firm’s responsibilities do you believe AI will meaningfully improve your firm’s processes in the next 24 months.
20.What types of API connections does your firm currently support with recordkeepers? (Select all that apply)
21.What barriers has your firm experienced in implementing API integrations with recordkeepers? (Select all that apply)
22.How likely is your firm to adopt SPARK’s API guidelines in the next 12 months?
23.Which of the following cybersecurity practices has your firm implemented for plan-level and participant-level data protection? (Select all that apply)
24.Have you been asked by plan sponsors or recordkeepers to attest to specific cybersecurity practices in the past 12 months?
25.Do your plan sponsor clients expect you to provide support directly to participants?
26.Does your firm offer any participant-facing digital tools (e.g., portals, calculators, mobile apps)?
27.What future data exchange functions would you most like to see standardized via SPARK API guidelines?
Pleases provide your contact information below, if you would like to be including a drawing for complimentary SPARK Forum attendance and 2 nights stay Nov 15-16, 2027 at The Breakers. DEADLINE is October 2nd to be considered for the drawing.
28.First and Last Name
29.Company Name
30.Email Address
31.Phone Number
Thank you for your participation and valuable input.