Ascensus Expands Employee Benefits Administration and Compliance Capabilities with Agreement to Acquire UnifyHR

Image: Ascensus Expands Employee Benefits Administration and Compliance Capabilities with Agreement to Acquire UnifyHR

Fortifies Expertise in ACA Compliance, COBRA Administration, and Eligibility Verification Services Within Health & Benefits Line of Business

Ascensus—whose technology and expertise help millions of people save for retirement, education, and healthcare—has entered into an agreement to acquire UnifyHR, a third-party administrator that provides employee benefits administration and compliance solutions including Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) administration, and eligibility verification services. It will immediately become part of Ascensus' Health & Benefits line of business.

The transaction is expected to close on July 1, 2021. Terms are not being disclosed.

Founded in 2013 and based in Irving, TX, UnifyHR provides flexible and affordable support that helps employers manage complex employee benefits programs so they can focus on their core business. Its suite of offerings, managed through a proprietary system that also supports premium billing services and dependent eligibility audits, covers an employee's entire lifecycle from new hire to retiree.

"UnifyHR has been highly successful in taking the complexity out of employee benefits administration and compliance obligations," states David Musto, president and CEO of Ascensus. "By adding their knowledge and expertise to our Health & Benefits line of business, Ascensus reaffirms our commitment to helping employers satisfy their fiduciary and compliance responsibilities by making employee benefits easier to manage."

"At Unify HR, we take pride in our deep experience in employee benefits administration and compliance services as well as our collaborative and close-knit culture," says Allen Gehrki, UnifyHR's president and CEO. "We're looking forward to becoming part of Ascensus and continuing to deliver high-quality benefit services that are tailored to meet even the most complicated business requirements."

"The comprehensive array of tech-enabled services offered by UnifyHR spanning ACA and COBRA administration, state health insurance mandate filings, and eligibility verification will expand Ascensus' Health & Benefits solutions considerably," says Raghav Nandagopal, Ascensus' chief corporate development officer. "We're delighted to welcome UnifyHR's clients and associates to Ascensus and will continue to pursue opportunities to broaden our consumer-directed healthcare and employee benefits administration offerings."

About Ascensus

Ascensus and its affiliated companies help 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 a leading recordkeeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States. 

On April 8, 2022, Newport merged with Ascensus. Newport is a leading retirement services provider that helps employers—and the advisors who serve them—prepare employees for a more financially secure retirement through non-qualified and qualified retirement plan solutions, corporate- and bank-owned life insurance, and fiduciary and total rewards services. 

The unified company, operating as Ascensus, has more than $745 billion in assets under administration, serves more than 15 million savers across the U.S., and employs more than 5,500 associates. 

For more information, visit  ascensus.com and newportgroup.com.