Joseph Carolan, a self-proclaimed math enthusiast, thrives on unraveling complex ERISA or PBGC regulations. However, he finds 401(k) plans to be “miserable little plans,” a necessary evil complicated by constant regulatory changes. “If only our favorite uncle would stop messing with things,” they might have a chance, he said.

What he didn’t like about the pension business were the hundreds of financial account statements that arrive in the mail every month that have to be individually scanned and filed. Finally, one day, sitting next to the scanner drowning under another batch of statements, he had had enough. “This is insane. This is absolutely taking way too much time and costing too much money.”

But what to do? They couldn’t get out of the business, couldn’t get out of the plans they were administering. Joseph and his wife Kim felt trapped.

Company Overview

Name:

Evergreen Retirement Plan Consulting, LLC

Type of Company:

TPA (Third Party Administrator)

Locations:

Mukilteo (Seattle), Washington and Austin, Texas

Services Offered:

Consulting for plan sponsors and their advisory team, retirement plan design, compliance, plan administration, government filings

Goals:

• Create a customized retirement plan for every client

• Provide both direct client services and outsourced actuarial services for other TPAs

• Offer services for 401(k)s, DBs, ESOPs, 457s, with a preference for DB and cash balance plans

• Provide administrative services mainly for smaller plans

• Educate plan sponsors as to the best type of plan that fits their company and its goals

A Chance Encounter – The Answers Become Clear

Joseph and Kim were at their wit’s end when they attended NIPA’s NAFE conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023, where Joseph was one of the speakers. During a session break at the NIPA’s NAFE conference in Nashville, 2023, Joseph and Kim stumbled upon the Stax.ai booth, which offered the exact solutions they needed.

Stax.ai stood out from the other vendors. They were able to do a lot of what Evergreen needed.

Evergreen was Kim’s brainchild, who started the firm in November 2011. Two years later, “in the parking lot, as I was taking what ended up being my last actuarial exam, she made me an offer I didn’t want to refuse, so I came on full-time in November 2013… and it’s been growing like a weed or like a six-year-old since then,” Joseph said.

At first, they had said “yes” to pretty much anybody who wanted Evergreen to work for them because, quite honestly, they needed the work. Crazy stuff – like clients whose entire plan was in brokerage accounts, Joseph chuckled. Hard work has paid off, though, and today 60%-75% of their administrative work is for their own plans, ones they’ve gone out and found or that have come in through their advisor network. The balance is through outsourced actuarial ghosting work Joseph does for other TPAs who don’t have a full-time actuary in-house.

Growth was good but had its own growing pains as Joseph and Kim discovered. The first major change was when they reached the difficult decision to move from paper tracking spreadsheets to a major pension system in 2020. The transition, however, didn’t go well – “it was a mess, an absolute nightmare.” Joseph said. It had to be done, however. Evergreen had grown, adding staff, and using spreadsheets was no longer feasible.   

The memories of that earlier transition lingered as Joseph talked with Stax.ai’s client success team about making another transition, this one to Stax.ai. In the end, the benefits of the Stax.ai systems won him over and he signed with them in January 2024. “You guys were the only game in town in terms of filing statements.”

The Answers Pay Off

Joseph's initial concerns about transitioning to a new system were quickly alleviated by Stax.ai's exceptional customer service. The transition of Evergreen's plans to Stax.ai was executed in stages, with the larger plans with individual brokerage accounts moving over early in 2024.

The process went off without a hitch. The Stax.ai onboarding team efficiently used their API link to access Evergreen’s data from their former provider, seamlessly pulling it over. This required minimal effort from Joseph, allowing him to focus on tasks that required his expertise.

He was particularly impressed with Stax.ai’s customer service, noting that everyone at Stax.ai was easily accessible and made the transition seamless and stress-free.

So far, all of Evergreen’s staff are working with Stax.ai’s CX (client experience) platform. Joseph is also using their trust accounting program and plans to involve his staff with it over time.

“Having Stax.ai take care of getting the data from our old provider into Stax.ai on their end made it the easiest transition ever,” Joseph remarked.

Solutions As Easy As 1-2-3 = 100%

The impact on Evergreen has been magical. “It’s hard to quantify [the results] in dollars, but I know it’s a net positive,” Joseph noted. The time savings have been significant, leading to improved efficiency.

Stax.ai’s ability to process accounting statements in bulk means Joseph no longer spends countless hours on manual scanning. Instead, he sends the banker’s boxes of statements to a scanning service, quickly segments the files, and lets Sax.ai handle the rest. “It’s unbelievable how much the time it takes me has been reduced,” Joseph remarked.

The process is seamless – no mess, no fuss. This ease of use has allowed Joseph to focus on more strategic tasks, enhancing overall productivity.

All of Evergreen’s new business now goes into Stax.ai’s CX platform while they continue to slowly transition existing plans out of their old system. Joseph loves the “really neat capabilities” of the platform and says it’s been fun being part of it.

So far, the interface with Stax.ai has been limited to database functions. As Stax.ai moves into adding compliance testing to their services, he’ll lend his expertise to help them get it right. “Like I said, I’ve got almost 24 years of experience in the business, and I haven’t done all of that just to keep it to myself,” he concludes.

The sum of his experience with Stax.ai? A fabulous transformation. The seamless integration and significant time savings have allowed Evergreen to focus on strategic growth, marking a new era of efficiency.

About Stax.ai

Stax.ai was built specifically for the retirement industry to modernize and automate the way TPAs manage their operations. Their AI-powered platform streamlines compliance, client communication, trust accounting, and workflow automation – eliminating inefficiencies and empowering TPAs to scale. Today, Stax.ai serves leading TPAs nationwide, helping them increase productivity, reduce costs, and deliver superior service to plan sponsors and participants.