When people ask my wife what I do for a living, she says she doesn’t know. Half the time I think she’s joking and half the time I think she is serious that she doesn’t know what an ERISA attorney does. The same thing goes with third party administration (TPA) firms, who serve as the backbone of the qualified plan industry because of the nature of their role. Whether it’s through poor marketing or a lack of understanding by plan sponsors, many people don’t know what a TPA does. So this article is written to solve some of the mysteries of TPAs and for you to understand their role and why it’s so important to have one that will do a quality job.