Ascensus Announces Agreement to Acquire Recordkeeping Retirement Business from Truist

Transaction Includes Heritage BB&T Plans Along with Heritage BB&T Outsourced Recordkeeping Business Currently Serviced by Ascensus

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Ascensus

Jan 06, 2021, 08:00 ET

DRESHER, Pa., Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensus—whose technology and expertise help millions of people save for retirement, education, and healthcare—is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the heritage BB&T bundled recordkeeping retirement business from Truist Bank. Ascensus will now serve as the recordkeeper for the heritage BB&T plans as well as the plans for which it currently serves as outsourced recordkeeper. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In total, the Truist business acquired by Ascensus covers more than 1,200 plans with approximately 125,000 participants and $5 billion in assets. The transaction, which is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2021, will increase Ascensus' retirement plan count to more than 115,000, its participant base to more than 3.4 million, and its retirement plan assets under administration to more than $192 billion.

Truist has partnered with Ascensus for the past 12 years as the outsourced administrator for a segment of its retirement business. The long-standing relationship built by the two companies over time led Truist to select Ascensus to service both the current Ascensus-administered plans as well as the legacy plans that were previously administered in-house. Ascensus' strong track record as a partner; ongoing commitment to client focus, service quality, and technology solutions; and industry-leading compliance and regulatory capabilities contributed to its selection.

"We're extremely honored that Truist chose Ascensus to serve its heritage BB&T and Ascensus-administered retirement plans going forward," said Kevin Cox, president of Ascensus' Retirement line of business. "We've enjoyed a great degree of success in partnership with Truist and look forward to continuing our tradition of service excellence in helping participants save for retirement."

"This transaction brings a large group of clients to the Ascensus platform, and we're delighted to reach this agreement with Truist," notes Raghav Nandagopal, Ascensus' chief corporate development officer. "Our commitment to helping savers in America prepare for retirement is strong, as is our promise to provide differentiated solutions in recordkeeping, financial wellness, managed accounts, and analytics capabilities that help our clients better manage their retirement programs."

About Ascensus
Ascensus helps millions of people save for what matters—retirement, education, and healthcare. Through co-branded, private-labeled, and other governmental partnerships, our technology, market insights, and business knowledge enhance the growth and success of our partners, their clients, and savers. Ascensus is the largest independent recordkeeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States. For more information, visit ascensus.com.

Get the latest trends and insights based on our proprietary data from more than 114,400 retirement plans, 6.2 million 529 accounts, 417,000 health savings accounts, and 23 ABLE plans.* Inside America's Savings Plans highlights average savings levels across these tax-advantaged accounts and showcases plan features that drive participation and growth. The State of Savings report outlines how plan contribution and withdrawal behaviors have shifted over the course of 2020 and since the passage of the CARES Act.

*As of September 30, 2020.

SOURCE Ascensus