Retirement Industry People Moves

Ascensus aquires TPA firm; ICMA-RC introduces new public 403(b) plan team; and Strategic Benefit Advisors hires senior benefits consultant.

Art by Subin Yang

Art by Subin Yang

Ascensus Acquires TPA Firm

Ascensus has entered into an agreement to acquire Pension Strategies, Inc. The third-party administration (TPA) firm will immediately become part of FuturePlan by Ascensus.

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Pension Strategies provides retirement plan consulting, design, and administration for small- to medium-sized businesses.

“Among other things, Pension Strategies is known throughout the industry for its in-depth knowledge base, commitment to service, and responsive solutions,” says Jerry Bramlett, head of FuturePlan by Ascensus. “I’m pleased to welcome their associates and the experience, expertise, and leadership they bring to FuturePlan by Ascensus.”

“At Pension Strategies, we take the time to listen to clients’ personal and business objectives in order to provide solutions that can meet their needs,” says S. Jill Hastings, Pension Strategies’ chief executive officer. “We look forward to continuing to offer clients the highest level of professional, personal service as part of FuturePlan by Ascensus.”

ICMA-RC Introduces New Public 403(b) Plan Team

As ICMA-RC continues to focus on helping public sector employees build retirement security, the company announced it has assembled a team of industry veterans to introduce retirement plan services to public plan sponsors across a range of education and health care organizations.

ICMA-RC entered the 403(b) space to bring its public sector expertise, participant-centered philosophy, and low costs to employees in 403(b) plan markets.

The 403(b) team, under the direction of Managing Vice President/Head of 403(b) Business, Bruce Corcoran, includes 13-year ICMA-RC veteran George Spindell, vice president, 403(b) Product and Platform Leader, joined by new hires Scott Vensor, vice president, 403(b) Business Development, and Kevin Orr, senior director, Education and Health Care Market.

Spindell has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and has been with ICMA-RC since 2006. He is responsible for 403(b) products and services, and he leads the effort to broaden ICMA-RC’s 403(b) market acceptance. Previously, he designed, developed, and launched the VantageTrust’s guaranteed lifetime income investment option that ICMA-RC makes available.

Vensor comes to ICMA-RC’s 403(b) team with nearly 25 years in the financial industry, 18 years of which were focused on institutional business development. He oversees ICMA-RC’s institutional business development opportunities in the education and health care market. He also aims to ensure that ICMA-RC’s recordkeeping, education, and investment services align with best market practices. Vensor comes to ICMA-RC from various industry-leading organizations, including TIAA, where he served as national director of Business Development for Select Markets, which include the K-12 (public and private), health care, government, religious and charitable segments.

Orr comes to ICMA-RC with more than 30 years of experience in all areas of the 403(b) education and health care market. He will lead the corporation in best practices pertaining to public education and public health care plan implementation and administration. Prior to joining ICMA-RC, Orr was senior director of K-12 and Emerging Markets for TIAA. He also held positions with VALIC, including adviser, district manager, regional director and regional vice president.

Strategic Benefit Advisors Hires Senior Benefits Consultant

Independent, full-service employee benefits consulting firm Strategic Benefits Advisors, Inc. (SBA) has hired veteran retirement plans leader Leslie Olds for the role of senior benefits consultant.

A retirement benefits consultant of 28 years, Olds will advise SBA’s plan sponsor clients on managing all aspects of their broad-based and executive retirement programs, including financing, design, implementation, administration and compliance.

Immediately before joining SBA, Olds was a partner in Aon’s retirement division, where she oversaw business operations for six markets in the south region. Before that, Olds spent more than 15 years at global advisory, brokerage and solutions company Willis Towers Watson, where she was a senior consultant in the firm’s retirement practice.

Olds’ areas of specialty as a retirement benefits consultant include qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, post-retirement welfare plans, the design and implementation of new retirement programs, retirement plan merger and acquisition strategies and the alignment of benefits funding and accounting policies with business objectives.

Olds holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Northwestern University. She has earned the designations of Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Enrolled Actuary (EA), Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).

«