Rainier Partners has acquired Welfare & Pension Administration Service (WPAS), a third-party administration (TPA) firm specializing in multi-employer benefit plan administration.
WPAS provides benefit administration services for Taft-Hartley multi-employer trust plans. These services include pension and retirement fund management, health plan administration, and compliance monitoring. Currently, WPAS administers benefits for over 450,000 active members and their families across the United States. WPAS was founded in 1953 and is headquartered near Seattle in Mercer Island, Washington.
Taft-Hartley multi-employer trust plans, established under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, are collectively bargained arrangements between labor unions and employers. These plans allow multiple employers, often in the same industry, to pool resources to provide health, pension, and other benefits to their unionized workers. Administered by a board of trustees comprising equal representation from labor and management, Taft-Hartley plans aim to ensure fair and consistent benefit distribution across participating employers.
“This partnership marks an important milestone in the history of our business,” said Adam Keck, the CEO of WPAS. “Since 1953, WPAS has been a premier service provider to Taft-Hartley multi-employer trusts. We take great pride in offering full-service trust administration to over 450,000 active members and their families across the U.S. We’re confident this partnership will pave the way for the next phase of our growth journey.”
“The WPAS team is the best in the business at what they do, and we are excited to put our expertise in financial and business services to work to help them drive further expansion,” said Jon Altman, a Rainier co-founder and managing partner.
“The increasing complexity of the benefits administration landscape has only strengthened the need for trusted partners like WPAS,” added Henry Anderson, a vice president at Rainier.
Rainier Partners focuses on lower middle-market investments in business services, consumer services, industrial services, and financial services. In February 2023, Rainier Partners held an above target, hard cap, and final close of Rainier Partners Fund I LP at its hard cap of $300 million. The firm was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Seattle.
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