When it comes to the retirement plan business, very few people understand the role of a third party administration (TPA) firm. People who are not experienced in the business feel that all TPAs do is recordkeeping and/or performing simple mathematical discrimination tests. Very few plan sponsors and their financial advisors understand the value of a good TPA and their role in retirement plan design. There are many TPAs out there that are like the mass producers of American beer, who churn out retirement plan designs that try to fit one size for all even though plan sponsors come in with all different shapes and sizes. Then there are other TPAs who take retirement plan design to an art form, which helps plans sponsors maximize contributions to their highly compensated employees, which in turns maximizes tax deductions and tax savings.