Alight and BNY launch bundled retirement plan platform

Alight and BNY have launched an integrated retirement plan offering for defined contribution and defined benefit plan sponsors, combining administration, recordkeeping and investment services in a single delivery model. The companies said the arrangement gives employers one primary service relationship with Alight while providing access to BNY’s retirement investment, custody and payments capabilities.

Alight, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ALIT, provides benefits administration across health, wealth and leave programmes. BNY, listed under the ticker BNY, is contributing services from its financial platform, including investment management, asset servicing, custody, payments and trade capabilities.

The offering is aimed at plan sponsors seeking to manage retirement plan operations and participant services through a more integrated structure. Under the model described by the companies, Alight will serve as the main partner for sponsors and participants, while BNY will provide bundled investment products and related financial infrastructure behind the service.

How the retirement plan model works

The collaboration links Alight’s defined contribution and defined benefit recordkeeping with BNY’s retirement-focused investment options. BNY’s suite includes stable value products, target date funds, active funds and index funds, according to the companies.

Those investment options can be incorporated into Alight’s recordkeeping environment and paired with a brokerage window supported by custody infrastructure. A brokerage window allows plan participants to access investment choices through a retirement plan platform, while custody services provide the safekeeping and servicing framework for those assets.

Alight said the investment capabilities will be connected to Alight Worklife, its participant experience and administration platform. The company said this will allow sponsors to handle plan administration, participant communications and investment access through a unified system.

The companies also said the structure follows an open-architecture approach. In practice, that means sponsors and participants can combine different retirement options rather than being limited to one proprietary set of funds, subject to the plan design and governance framework selected by the sponsor.

Oversight, data and client support

Alight and BNY said the offering includes a dual-oversight model for fiduciary care and plan governance. Alight will use its recordkeeping infrastructure, administrative processes and compliance capabilities to support sponsors’ operational and governance requirements.

The companies said the platform will also use artificial intelligence-driven insights, data security measures and personalised guidance for participants. Alight’s platform will provide employers with workforce data, reporting and analytics intended to support retirement readiness and financial wellbeing programmes.

Client service will be led by Alight relationship managers, who will act as the single point of contact for plan sponsors. BNY subject-matter experts will support those teams where specialist investment, custody, payments or servicing input is required.

Dinesh Tulsiani, president of employer solutions at Alight, said the collaboration brings together Alight’s recordkeeping for defined contribution and defined benefit plans with BNY’s payments, custody and investment services. He said the model is intended to help sponsors manage retirement plans more efficiently and give participants tools for financial wellbeing.

Nader Souri, head of corporate banking at BNY, said sponsors have faced constraints in combining efficiency, flexibility, transparency and retirement-specific investment choices for participants. He said the Alight-BNY solution is designed to address those constraints and support employee retirement outcomes.

Alight will lead client engagement and implementation through its relationship management and service teams. BNY will provide capabilities through BNY Investments, Asset Servicing and Global Payments and Trade, according to the companies.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.