We're Pension Systems Corporation

We're Pension Systems Corporation, a company founded on the principle of providing quality 401k plans at prices companies of any size can afford.

We believe 401k plans are the best government-sanctioned, tax-deferred retirement savings opportunity available!

But 401k plans have to be sponsored by an employer. Our goal is to make sure that neither lack of affordability nor lack of plan flexibility is preventing employers from sponsoring 401k plans for their employees.

We've taken the 401k plan to the next level.

Many of the large 401k providers are pulling out of the smaller plan market because they find smaller plans (especially ones with 200 or fewer participants) a low margin sale, and too costly to run; their administrative systems were built on and continue to be operated in large-plan mode.

We've specialized in smaller plan administration for years through an affiliated company, Pension Service Associates (PSA).

Through technological innovation and taking a fresh, creative approach we've been able to give clients 401k plans rich in investment choice and popular options yet low in price!

Our PSA 401k plans see participation rates that are nearly TWICE the national average. That's because we design plans that can fulfill all types of needs, from the company owners' to the rank-and-file employees', and we provide quality administration for those plans.

With 401(k) Easy we've taken 401k to the next level: Today's businesses and their employees have ready access to computers and related technology, so we packaged our expertise into an easy-to-use system individual businesses can purchase to run their 401k plans in-house -- to save even MORE money, enjoy even MORE control, get even QUICKER response times (because they're fulfilling the requests in-house), and provide everyone in the company with an even BETTER 401k than they ever thought they could afford!

401(k) Easy is simple, easy, complete -- how revolutionary! 401(k) Easy guides you -- and warns you about what not to do--It knows the IRS rules and helps keep you from breaching them.

We customize each copy of 401(k) Easy to each specific employer's needs.

We work with our clients in setting up their plans. We explain typical effects of different plan option (eligibility parameters, investment approach, employer matching contribution and vesting formulas, if being used, loan policy and repayment formulas, etc.). Our clients can thus make educated decisions in designing the best 401k plan for their needs.

We "hard-wire" the clients' decisions into their 401(k) Easy software, so that their plan operates to THEIR specifications.

Clients simply load employee information, enter payroll data each month (which they can do manually using 401(k) Easy's quick-and-easy keypad screen) then they forward the contributions and purchase orders to the mutual fund investment company or self-directed discount brokerage for allocation among employees' accounts.

Automatic 401k loan payments, standard payroll contributions, matching contributions, distributions.... 401(k) Easy processes them all! Its amazingly efficient yet easy use -- and if you ever do have any trouble, technical support is close at hand (via e-mail, fax or telephone).

An improvement over "bundled" plans!

When 401k plans first came on the scene in the late 1970's, all the industry focus was on the big, big companies. Lots of employees meant lots of investment dollars meant lots of revenue for the 401k providers and investment companies. Everything from fee schedules to service regimes was set up to capture and service big 401k plans.

But eventually the big plan market got all divvied up. By the late '80s and early '90s some 401k providers developed pared-down 401k plans with which to approach the less colossal companies. They called the plans "bundled" or "turnkey" plans, because using them was designed to be as simple as turning a key.

Bundled, turnkey plans usually come as a preset package of administration plus investments; "prefabricated" is an alternate adjective that's often used.

Turnkey plans are highly simplified, pared-down versions of the full-fledge 401k plans offered to high-paying companies.

Turnkey plans take the decision-making out of creating a 401k plan; they're like buying an off-the-rack suit: it may fit fine or it may not, but you're stuck with it if there's little tailoring available.

Turnkey plans offer a reduced price in exchange for reduced service, far fewer investment choices, and inflexible plan "options."

Many small and mid-sized companies have adopted turnkey plans, frustrated by the lack of flexibility and truncated service but glad, nonetheless, to have at least some kind of 401k plan for their employees. 401ks rank #2 in employee benefit choices; only health insurance gets more votes.

About the time the idea of turn-key plans was first coming to market, our affiliated company recognized the need for a 401k product that suited more than just the largest companies. The turn-key plans being developed were not necessarily the best answer.

Pension Service Associates created a semi-bundled plan that merged the simplicity and lower cost of turnkey plans with the flexibility and scope of many Fortune 500-type plans.

PSA developed an innovative approach that allowed its plans to include investments from multiple mutual fund companies -- for no additional charge. Not only were clients NOT limited to some preset investment bundle, they had an almost unlimited array of mutual fund families from which to select their plans' investments.

PSA used IRS-approved prototype documents that allowed for the most popular options.

PSA created an administrative system that complimented rather than replicated the administrative work being performed by the third-party administrator, saving everyone time -- and money. PSA then passed these savings on to its clients.

PSA was one of the first (and still remains one of the few) 401k providers to offer MONTHLY employee statements, and MONTHLY compliance testing -- all at no additional charge. 

We're committed to creating affordable, flexible
401k plans.

Affordability is important, certainly. But what good is an affordable plan if it's ill-suited to your needs?

Flexible means investment choice -- real investment choice, not some mini-mix of proprietary investments.

Flexible means giving employers say over their plan's participation requirements.

Flexible means not mandating employer contributions, but allowing them for companies that want to contribute to their employees' accounts.

Flexible means letting companies select the rate at which they'll make matching contributions, if any.

Flexible means letting companies choose the vesting schedule they want for any matching contributions being made.

Flexible means letting employers choose how often they want to open up their plan to new participants (annually, quarterly, monthly...)

Flexible means creating plans employers are proud to offer to employees; plans with the  inherent flexibility to grow and adapt over the years.

401k plans for small and medium-sized companies are our specialty.

While most vendors in the 401k industry were scrambling for the big company 401ks, our affiliated company, Pension Service Associates (PSA), was concentrating on creating plans suited to small and medium-sized companies. PSA made sure its plans contained the diverse features and offerings small-scale companies needed.

Since the mid-1980's PSA catered to small and medium-sized companies providing them with quality full-service plans. Now, through Pension Systems Corporation we're also the do-it-yourself 401k plan specialists.

Over the years, many of our clients' businesses have grown substantially; our plans have substantial investment selection, the plans have been able to grow and adapt to our clients burgeoning work-force.

We design our plans to work with any of a variety of investment approaches that equate to a variety of plan pricing approaches. Our clients can choose to absorb all the cost of the plan themselves, split costs with their plan's participants, or have their plan's participants absorb the costs of the plan. It's a pricing option that has proven very popular with our PSA plans, and we've carried it over to our 401(k) Easy product.

VIEW 401(k) EASY PRICING

We know employees appreciate a wide selection of investment choices

Even if plan participants only rarely change or add to their investment mix during the life of their 401k participation, employees like to know they HAVE choices.

Receiving a 401k enrollment package that offers only a few investment choices rarely goes over well. Investors feel tentative, penned-in -- uncertain that this 401k, however convenient, will really be the best long-run savings vehicle for them.

Receiving a 401k enrollment package that offers a broad spectrum of investments gives employees the confidence that, however their savings goals and temperament may change in the years between now and retirement, this 401k can meet their needs -- whatever those needs may be. 

With our 401(k) Easy, employers always have the opportunity to give their employees tremendous investment choice -- from an entire family of no-load mutual funds to multiple-fund-family listings offered through 401k participant-directed brokerage accounts.

We know employers like saving money -- but also insist on quality!

The driving force behind 401(k) Easy is making 401k plans affordable to small-sized companies currently excluded by cost of traditional arrangements. We're also finding 401(k) Easy's approach to be popular among companies of all sizes that have computer-savvy employees; they're drawn to our straight-forward hands-on administrative system, and the vast array of investments, including participant-directed brokerage accounts.

We never skimp on quality while in pursuit of affordability.

We've created six different investment approaches for 401(k) Easy customers. Within them, companies have the freedom to absorb the costs of the plan themselves, split the costs with their plan's participants, or have their plan's participants absorb the costs. All the while, plan participants -- from company owners to rank-and-file employees -- get extensive investment choice and a quality 401k plan they can count on.

We make our plans employer-trusted so our clients never pay annual trustee fees.

We offer full-service plans (through an affiliated company, Pension Service Associates) as well as the do-it-yourself approach. With the full-service plans, PSA handles the administration and interaction with the mutual fund providers and charges a fee (a very low fee, by industry standards); with the 401(k) Easy do-it-yourself approach, you take control -- but you get our great plan administration software, companion materials to get the job done quickly, inexpensively, and easily.

Full-service plan or do-it-yourself plan: either way, providing you with quality service, quality tools, tremendous investment choice and plan flexibility are our driving force!

401(k) Easy's not only about saving money, it's also about asset control.

Unfortunately, theft of plan assets by unscrupulous third-party administrators is a real problem today.

With both our full-service and do-it-yourself plans, clients never have to worry about possible malfeasance by a third-party administrator because no middleman/third-party administrator EVER gets between employees' and employers' contributions and the custodian investment company for which the contributions are intended.

With both our full-service and do-it-yourself plans, third parties NEVER take constructive receipt of any pension assets at any time.

With both our full-service and do-it-yourself plans, transactions occur ONLY between your company and the custodian mutual fund investment company housing your plan's investments; it's point-to-point, with no intermediary or third-party acting as go-between.

With our do-it-yourself plans, the 401(k) Easy software documents EVERY transaction you make, so there's always an easy-to-track, easy-to-trace paper trail available to your in-house plan administrator or company auditor.

In addition to the above, all mutual fund share purchases, and share liquidations and exchanges are independently recorded and reported to plan participants MONTHLY via individual mutual fund company statements, thus assuring your employees that their money is being properly invested according to their wishes.

We know peace of mind about your plan's assets is of significant value to both you and your employees.

401(k) Easy includes a 60-day money-back guarantee!

As you may have surmised, we really believe in 401k plans and strive to create the best plans possible. We've spent years designing, developing, refining and testing the 401(k) Easy do-it-yourself system. 401(k) Easy can meet a wide variety of 401k needs, yet it's easy to use.

401(k) Easy comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee on everything but the plan customization fee.

Because the plan customizing fee is non-refundable, we recommend interested parties try 401(k) Easy's administration software, the core of the 401(k) Easy system, before deciding on a do-it-yourself arrangement.

You can download a free demo version of our 401k administration software .

You can order a CD-ROM demo version of our 401k administration software; there's a $35 fee to cover our costs, but if you order the CD-ROM and later purchase a 401(k) Easy system, the $35 CD-ROM fee will be applied to your purchase.

Our roots stretch back to 401k's early years.

Our company's founder, James Gilbert, has been a professional 401k investment advisor for the past 18 years, almost for as long as the plans have existed.

Jim had become increasingly frustrated by the unwillingness of traditional 401k providers to create 401k plans that truly fit the needs and budgets of small and medium-sized companies; 401k providers continued writing fee schedules and service regimes (not to mention setting high minimum participation numbers) that were relevant only to large-company employers despite that all the people employed by companies of any other size were thereby being ignored.

In 1986 Jim and some patriots-in-arms set off on their own and formed Pension Service Associates (PSA), with the express goal of creating affordable, flexible 401k plans for small and medium-sized companies. PSA has been designing and servicing 401k plans ever since.

PSA created The 401k Solution, an IRS-approved prototype 401k with multiple, IRS-approved option choices. For the first time, small and medium-sized companies had access to a flexible, quality 401k plan they could afford.

And now the business environment has changed even further. Today even the smallest companies have an increasing familiarity with computers and related technology, Jim felt the business world was ready for the next step: the do-it-yourself 401k plan. And so Pension Systems Corporation, was founded which, after years of research and refining, introduced 401(k) Easy, a first-rate 401k plan set within a do-it-yourself administration arrangement.

PSA continues to provide full-service 401k plans as well as 403(b) plans (for non-profit organizations), SEPs (for self-employed persons) and other government-sanctioned retirement savings plans. 401(k) Pro handles all the do-it-yourself arrangements.