Omni/TSAConsulting Group Raising P3 Fees

The fees vendors will pay will increase to $42 per year by 2027

Long-time 403(b) compliance administrator Omni/TSACG announced an update to the fees they charge in their “Preferred Provider Program” on February 3rd.

The “Preferred Provider Program,” called P3, is a group of 403(b) vendors who have met the minimum criteria set by Omni and which require vendors to pay the school district’s compliance fees on behalf of their participants or pass that fee on to the participant.

P3 is not a program of vendors who qualified fiduciaries have vetted. Participants should not look at a P3 vendor as a quality vendor, merely as a vendor who has met minimum criteria and agreed to pay fees on behalf of a school district so the school district does not have to pay for 403(b) compliance. If you are looking for a rating system that vets vendors based on fiduciary criteria, you can find this at 403bwise.org.

The fees are rising in stages from $3 currently to $3.25 beginning April 1st, 2025, and then to $3.50 in January 2027. The current $3 fee has not been raised since 2011 despite inflation rising by over 41%. If the fee kept up, with inflation, it would be roughly $4.25.

It’s important to note that the fee only applies to P3 vendors, not fees that are charged to school districts that pay directly.

It’s also important to note that while vendors pay these fees on behalf of participants, the participant ultimately pays the fee through higher product costs. Vendors must raise product costs to cover the school district’s refusal to pay the compliance fees on the 403(b) plan they sponsor. At the end of the day, nothing is free; someone has to pay, and that someone is the participant.

Omni/TSACG is owned by U.S. Retirement and Benefits Partners, an entity controlled by private equity company Vistria Group (majority owner) and Kohlberg and Company (minority owner).