The Standard Introduces Accelerate for Small Retirement Plans

Standard Retirement Services Inc. has announced the launch of Accelerate, a new 401(k) recordkeeping solution designed to meet the needs of retirement plans with up to $2 million in assets.

“We conducted market research that revealed a significant opportunity for us to scale our expertise and service-first culture to meet the needs of small plans,” says Rob Baumgarten, vice president of retirement plan sales at The Standard. “There is a big opportunity to enhance small plan relationships that might have felt limited in their retirement plan options. Through partnerships with TPAs [third-party administrators], Accelerate provides peace of mind by creating efficiencies and delivering a superior experience for our clients.”

According to The Standard, Accelerate offers a platform that can accommodate plan growth without time-consuming conversions; an online Quick Start tool for quick and easy plan quoting; flexibility in providing a range of investment options; optional investment fiduciary services from Morningstar; and a designated account manager for point-of-contact.

“Accelerate was created with ease of use in mind, allowing advisers and TPAs to use thoughtfully designed resources for their small plan clients,” says Jody Meth, senior director of retirement plan product management at The Standard. “In addition to its intuitive quoting process and streamlined onboarding and reporting tools, Accelerate is powered by our clean data technology to ensure errors are caught early—increasing accuracy, saving time and reducing risks.”

Baumgarten adds, “Serving small retirement plans is nothing new for The Standard, but, with Accelerate, we can provide small plans a level of service typically reserved for larger plans at a competitive price.”