Stax.ai Deepens Partnership With Finch to Deliver Payroll-Connected Census for Retirement TPAs

Stax.ai is the only retirement TPA administration suite with natively embedded payroll connectivity through Finch—universal coverage, AI census automation, and sponsor-loved experiences legacy systems can’t match

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stax.ai, the AI-powered operating system for retirement plan administrators, today announced the expansion of its partnership with Finch, the leading payroll and employee data connectivity provider. Building on two years of collaboration, Stax.ai is now the only retirement plan administration platform with Finch natively embedded into their census, compliance, and client portal workflows. This deeper partnership comes at a critical moment for TPAs as they face a surge in payroll and participant data complexity with SECURE 2.0 long-term part-time (LTPT) rules reshaping census obligations in 2025. Stax.ai and Finch together eliminate census bottlenecks: plan sponsors can connect payroll once through the portal, then clean, standardized data flows automatically into Stax.ai’s census and compliance engine— eliminating the need for back-and-forth, data reformatting, point solutions, and extra operational headcount.

Why It Matters

• Universal payroll coverage: Connect to most major payroll providers by API or tech-assisted integrations through Finch plus document AI that standardizes payroll reports for unsupported providers.
• 360 Recordkeeper Connectivity: Bidirectional payroll and participant data that automates deferral and contribution updates, making plan management more seamless and eliminating the need for manual intervention
• Natively embedded, not a separate workflow: Payroll connectivity lives inside Stax.ai’s white-label client portal and workflows—something legacy platforms don’t offer.
• Compliance readiness: LTPT and SECURE 2.0 obligations met automatically through census automation. Programmatic access to key payroll tax forms such as W-2 and W-3 to support compliance and census data reconciliation/validations.
• Proven results: TPAs using Stax.ai report a 29% increase in plan sponsor satisfaction within 90 days of implementation, with 89% of sponsors preferring the portal to their previous census process.

Customer Impact

The positive results seen by retirement plan consultant firms is clear:

“It’s unbelievable how much the time it takes me has been reduced,” said Joseph Carolan, Owner of Evergreen Retirement Plan Consulting. “The Stax product experience and significant time savings have allowed Evergreen to focus on strategic growth, marking a new era of efficiency.”

“With CX, the friction on year-end administration is largely gone,” said Sheree Tallerman, CEO of PlanPerfect. “Rather than sending census requests and waiting on spreadsheets, we now receive payroll data directly in census-ready format. The process is seamless, fast, and far more accurate.”

Leadership Quotes

“Plan consultants know that getting accurate payroll and census have been the toughest, most unreliable part of plan administration,” said Naru Muraleedharan, Founder and CEO of Stax.ai. “Other payroll connectivity and aggregation tools left major gaps, but our partnership with Finch closes them—delivering the clean, automated, and accurate system the industry has been waiting for.”

“Stax.ai is quickly becoming the leader in retirement plan administration—using technology to deliver automation and client experiences that set a new industry standard,” said Jeremy Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Finch. “At Finch, our goal is to find and support the innovators who will move the ecosystem forward. Together, we can provide TPAs with a reliable and automated payroll-connected census experience, unlocking better outcomes for administrators, sponsors, and participants alike.”

About Finch

Finch is the leading API platform for payroll, HR, and benefits connectivity. With integrations across hundreds of providers, Finch enables secure, permissioned access to payroll data for a broad ecosystem of software companies serving employers, employees, and service providers.

About Stax.ai

Stax.ai is the AI-powered operating system for retirement plan administrators. Its Trust Accounting and Client Experience suite automates payroll integrations, census intake, reconciliation, client communications, and compliance workflows. Stax.ai is SOC 2 Type II certified and trusted by leading independent TPAs representing over 150,000 active retirement plans nationwide.