members 3 - The Cerrado Group

The Cerrado Group Member Firms

We want you to judge us by the company we keep.

The work we do in the retirement plan industry directly impacts plan sponsors and their participants’ ability to comfortably retire. This noble cause isn’t for everyone, which is why membership into The Cerrado Group is invite-only, reserved for what can only be described as the best of the very best.

The members of The Cerrado Group are specialists. We are positioned to enhance the interests of our industry by building a foundation of unrivaled expertise.

It’s the retirement plan industry and its clients that ultimately benefit from this partnership. We just believe that you should partner with the best.

14 Member Firms

With 199+ Credentialed Employees

23,000+ Plans Managed

With An Average Retention of 8 Years

More Than $43.5 Billion+

In Total Plan Assets Under Administration

755,000+

Retirement Plan Participants

Scroll To Explore Our Member Partners

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The Cerrado Group

Ann Slotwinski
Executive Director

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Ann Slotwinski is the Executive Director of The Cerrado Group. Ann has over 37 years’ experience in the Financial Services Industry. The majority of her career was spent in the TPA Services department of John Hancock, where she led the department for the last 8 years of her tenure. Ann served on the Board of Directors for NIPA for nine years and as President for 2014-2015. In 2019, she was also awarded a NIPA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Throughout her career, Ann has been known as a staunch advocate for TPAs and the value they bring to their clients, participants and partners. She retired in 2019 and moved to Hawaii with her husband. However, the opportunity to step back into the Industry and work with The Cerrado Group was an opportunity she could not pass up. In her role, she is responsible for managing all projects to support new and ongoing initiatives, representing The Cerrado Group throughout the Industry, and providing stewardship and advice.

Acuff & Associates

Trina Gross APA, QKA
Chairman/CEO

Founding Member Firm

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Founded in 1991, Acuff & Associates is totally focused on and dedicated to the business of designing and safeguarding your pension or 401(k) retirement plan. We develop and offer our clients administrative services that ensure their plans comply with Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor requirements and guidelines. Acuff & Associates’ specialized consulting services are the legacy of a group of dynamic entrepreneurs whose goal was to provide the best personal service possible. Today, we have extended our expertise and expanded our operations to include the entire spectrum of qualified retirement plans. Our performance is a testament to the absolute commitment, integrity, and professionalism of our most vital asset – our people.

Visit our website: www.Acuff.net

AimPoint Pension

Mike Mulka, RPA
Founding Partner

Member Firm

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AimPoint Pension is a Retirement Plan Consulting firm whose goal is to deliver a better client experience through a high-touch, tailored approach to customer service. Our team of over 20 experts serve more than 800 retirement plans located in 32 states with assets exceeding $1 billion and supporting more than 25,000 Americans on their path to a financially secure retirement.

Visit our website: www.AimpointPension.com

Alliance Benefit Group of Houston, Inc.

Parrish Pettey
President

Founding Member Firm
Cerrado Group Executive Committee Member

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Alliance Benefit Group of Houston, Inc. (ABG) is one of the fastest growing retirement plan, pension administration and recordkeeping firms in Texas. We provide services to all types of qualified retirement plans, with particular emphasis on 401(k) plans. Michael G. Pettey founded Custom Benefit Services in 1978 to service employee benefit plans. In 1992, he formed Alliance Benefit Group as a separate company to concentrate on the rapid growth of the qualified retirement plan market. Since that time, ABG has focused on providing daily valuation services for small to mid-size companies. Growth in pension administration firms over the past few years has been reflected in the growth of ABG.

Visit our website: www.ABGHouston.com

Benefit Plans Plus, LLC

Patrick M. Shelton, GBA
Chief Believer

Founding Member Firm

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Benefit Plans Plus (BPP) is committed to providing every client with the effective tools and services they need to grow healthier retirement plans. BPP provides effective, hassle-free plan administration and consulting across our core service lines, fixing broken retirement plans, personalized plan design and plan administration. We have a proven track record of success and currently maintain more than 1,800 benefit plans, 90,000 participants and $4.3 billion in assets under administration. Our clients span across multiple states, professions, and industries. BPP works with all plan sizes from start-ups to plans with thousands of lives. We understand how valuable your time is, which is why our services are efficient and hassle-free. To make things simple, every client is provided with a single point of contact. Our staff possesses robust technical knowledge and are highly credentialed retirement plan experts.

Our focus is on your success—now and into the future.

Visit our website: www.BPP401k.com

CrossPlans

Jordan Cross, QKA
President

Founding Member Firm

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CrossPlans is a second-generation, family owned ERISA Consulting and Third Party Administration firm supporting Orange County and greater Southern California. Founded in 2006, CrossPlans is dedicated to solving problems and keeping things simple for Plan Sponsors. We utilize the latest retirement plan concepts, strategies and technology, but the bottom line is it is our people at CrossPlans who make the difference. We believe we employ the best retirement professionals in the industry and hold them to the highest standards in communication, problem solving and technical skills to improve the experience and outcome of Qualified Retirement Plans.

Visit our website: www.CrossPlans.com

Dunbar, Bender & Zapf

Nick Zapf
President

Jill Dennis
Director of Business Development

Member Firm

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Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc.(DBZ) is the largest independent retirement plan consulting firm in the region. Since 1991, DBZ has provided third party administration, actuarial, plan design and consulting services to thousands of retirement plans ranging in size from one to several thousand employees. We spend a significant amount of time and resources to train and educate each of our more than 70 employees including 3 in-house actuaries. This allows us to offer exceptional service on all types of qualified retirement plans including 401(k), 403(b), Profit Sharing, Governmental, ESOP, Cash Balance and Traditional Defined Benefit Plans. In addition, DBZ offers individualized 3(16) Fiduciary Services to help reduce liability and administrative burden. DBZ is proud of our reputation for providing innovative, efficient, accurate and affordable services to our clients.

Visit our website: www.DBZinc.com

MAP Retirement

Bob Carroll
Managing Partner

Member Firm

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MAP Retirement builds retirement plan service offerings that give business owners peace of mind, and help their employees make the most of their retirement opportunity. Our goal is to help businesses meet their goals by providing the correct direction at each turn. For that reason, MAP Retirement works exclusively with your financial advisor so MAP can focus on your plan design and compliance administration, while your financial advisor focuses on financial planning and specific investments to meet your needs. This symbiotic relationship positively impacts the bottom line for business owners and helps you achieve both successful retirement and business outcomes.

Visit our website: https://map401k.com

Nexus Administrators, Inc.

Tom Tsaris, APA
CEO

Member Firm

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Nexus is one of the largest retirement plan administrators in Central California and among the largest in California with more credentialed and certificated staff members, a mark of reliable administration and expertise. Nexus offers the passionate customer service of a small organization paired with the efficiency of state-of-the-art and automated administration. With a combined 60 years of experience and 40 skilled staff members, Nexus provides a level of support that others can’t or are unable to do. Nexus delivers effective and efficient plans that are tailored to clients and employees needs from one employee to 30,000.

Visit our website: www.nexus-admin.com

Pension Plan Specialists

Joseph Burt ERPA, APA, QPA
President

Founding Member Firm
Cerrado Group Executive Committee Member

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Pension Plan Specialists is a full service third party administration (TPA) firm based in Vancouver, Washington, built from the ground up to provide unparalleled service, expertise, and guidance in the administration of our customers’ retirement plans. Unlike traditional Third Party Administrators or fully-bundled providers, we take additional measures to insulate and protect our clients from the complex rules and regulations that overwhelm so many companies. For over 25 years we have worked hard to earn the trust and confidence of our clients, as well as the many CPAs, Attorneys, and Investment Professionals we work with.

Visit our website: www.PensionPlanSpecialists.com

Qualified Pension Services, Inc.

Debbie Zimmer
President

Cerrado Group Executive Committee Member
Founding Member Firm

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Since 1996, Qualified Pension Services has assisted small business owners in creating and maintaining quality retirement plans for their benefit and the benefit of their employees. We work with our clients to truly understand their unique objectives, meet their needs, and produce a retirement Plan to feel good about. QPS achieves organic growth through referrals from key business associates and current clients. We have built an experienced, creative, hard-working team dedicated to designing distinctive plans and providing the highest quality, personalized service; doing so with honesty, integrity and the desire to support everyone we work with.

Visit our website: www.QPSCentral.com

QRPS

Forrest Knowles
President

Member Firm

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Qualified Retirement Plan Services (QRPS) was founded in 1988 by Ross Knowles and today is run by his son and 2^nd generation owner, Forrest Knowles. The firm, headquartered in Raleigh North Carolina has spent its 35 years in operation growing to become one of the largest and most respected in the region. QRPS has grown to become a company focused on customer service, so instead of serving our clients once a year, we have weekly touch points. We help support their payroll operations, we offer a variety of communications tools they can use to inform and educate their plan participants. Anyone can generate a report; our approach is to support our clients in much more essential ways. All of us at QRPS are especially proud that we are an ASPPA Certified Recordkeeping Firm and have attained the CEFEX designation (Center for Fiduciary Excellence). We went through a rigorous qualification process that looked at our client relationships, our employee relationships, our business practices, our leadership succession plan, and financial stability. This certification confirms that QRPS is part of an elite group of the best retirement organizations in the country.

Visit our website: www.QRPS.com

Sunwest Pensions

Theresa Conti, APR, QKA, ERPA, CPFA
President

Founding Member Firm
Cerrado Group Executive Committee Member

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Sunwest Pensions was formed in 1998 to provide clients with a flexible and innovative approach to qualified retirement plans. We are aware of what business owners go through in trying to create retirement plans that mean something to your company. We strive to create an environment for our clients that can satisfy all of their retirement plan needs. We have a culture of providing top notch service and communication to our clients. We work with you to present innovative plan design options based on your goals and objectives….not ours!

Visit our website: www.Sunwest-Pensions.com

The Benefit Advantage, Inc.

Kim L. Hansz
Principal

Founding Member Firm

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Since 1995, The Benefit Advantage has helped thousands of companies navigate benefit administration with success, diligence and ease. TBA was founded on the principle that ‘If you treat people well and do the right thing, you will be successful’, and through this mantra, we have crafted a business model that embraces the individuality and authenticity of you and your company’s needs. At TBA, we bring clarity, accountability, and a personal touch to what can be a confusing and time-consuming business. We know one size does not fit all in benefit administration, therefore, whether it is building a customized plan design, or reviewing the fine details for accurate IRS reporting – we are there with you to guide the way forward.

Visit our website: www.TBA401k.com

TSC

Matthew H. Slyter, QKA
President

Member Firm

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Since it was founded in 1966, TSC has grown to become one of the premier third-party administration firms in the country. As an employee-owned company, TSC and its employees are committed to establishing a long-term relationship with each client and providing them with the personalized service and year-after-year reliability that they have come to expect. This is reflected in TSC’s consistently high client retention rates. Over the years, TSC has maintained a focus on developing innovations designed to help its clients and referral partners. These innovations include TSC’s Plan Access web portal, which provides real-time access to plan records for both plan sponsors and financial advisors, as well as online tools to streamline the year-end information gathering process. Above all, TSC remains dedicated to helping build successful retirement plans by providing its clients and financial advisor partners with outstanding customer service and expert retirement plan consulting, design, and administration solutions.

Visit our website: www.TSC401k.com

The Cerrado Group Member Firms

Scroll To Explore Our Member Partners

The Cerrado Group

Acuff & Associates

AimPoint Pension

Alliance Benefit Group of Houston, Inc.

Benefit Plans Plus, LLC

CrossPlans

Dunbar, Bender & Zapf

MAP Retirement

Nexus Administrators, Inc.

Pension Plan Specialists

Qualified Pension Services, Inc.

QRPS

Sunwest Pensions

The Benefit Advantage, Inc.

TSC

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