Alliance Pension Consultants

What Alliance Pension Consultants does

Alliance Pension Consultants, LLC is a privately held, Illinois-domiciled third-party administrator (TPA) founded in 1979 by Irving J. Sachs, a CPA and attorney, with the explicit mission of providing independent, conflict-free retirement plan advice. The firm designs, administers, and recordkeeps qualified retirement plans — including 401(k), profit sharing, cash balance, defined benefit, pension equity, SERP, and OPEB plans — for U.S. employers ranging from sole proprietors to corporations with 5,000+ employees. Its core technology is AlliancePlan!, a proprietary web-based platform that provides separate participant and sponsor portals, integrates with custodians (Charles Schwab Bank and Mid Atlantic Trust Company), and supports open-architecture access to 20,000+ investment options including mutual funds, ETFs, model portfolios, privately managed accounts, self-directed brokerage, and trustee-directed accounts. Administrative, recordkeeping, compliance, and actuarial work is performed in-house, with multiple fully credentialed actuaries (FSA, EA, MAAA) on staff, and additional service lines covering plan terminations, SECURE Act 2.0 compliance, cannabis-industry retirement plans (Alliance Green), and HR outsourcing.

The firm generates revenue primarily through flat, fully disclosed annual fees for professional services rather than asset-based or per-participant pricing, with approximately 80% of clients paying administration fees from corporate bank accounts. A secondary revenue stream applies a 2.5% transaction fee to credit card invoice payments. Distribution is consultative and relationship-driven: direct sales meetings with plan sponsors and their financial advisors, accountants, and attorneys, supplemented by an advisor referral network that the firm explicitly positions as non-competitive. Marketing emphasizes thought leadership via the Employer Connect video series, a news and articles blog, and SECURE Act 2.0 educational resources, alongside client testimonials and case studies demonstrating quantifiable plan cost savings. The company operates from a headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois and a secondary office in downtown Chicago, is independently and management-owned with no disclosed institutional investors, and reports average staff tenure exceeding 12 years across its 45+ year operating history.

Name

Alliance Pension Consultants

Legal name

Alliance Pension Consultants, LLC

Website

https://alliancepension.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Alliance Pension Consultants is an independent third-party administrator providing retirement plan design, administration, recordkeeping, and actuarial services to U.S. employers ranging from sole proprietors to mid-size corporations. Founded in 1979, the firm operates the proprietary AlliancePlan! platform under a flat-fee subscription model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration and Recordkeeping

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Retirement & Pension Planning (401(k)/IRA) (FSAEAAAD)

Keywords

• Retirement plan administration
• Plan recordkeeping
• Actuarial services
• Retirement plan consulting
• Defined benefit plans

Headquarters

HQ city

Deerfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retirement Plan Administration and Recordkeeping Services: Alliance charges a flat and fully disclosed fee for professional services. They do not charge asset-based fees or per-participant fees. This model provides transparency and superior value to employers and employees, with fees remaining constant regardless of plan growth.
2. Invoice Payment Processing: The company accepts invoice payments through a secure payment gateway. A 2.5% processing fee is applied to all credit card transactions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Alliance Pension Consultants provides custom retirement plan design, administration, recordkeeping, actuarial and compliance services for qualified retirement plans including 401(k), 403(b), 457, Profit Sharing, Cash Balance and Defined Benefit plans. The firm delivers its services through the proprietary AlliancePlan! platform, which integrates with leading custodians and provides open architecture access to 20,000+ investment options for plan sponsors and participants.

Product overview

Alliance Pension Consultants offers a unified retirement plan administration platform centered around AlliancePlan!, which includes separate portals for employees and employers. The core offering comprises custom retirement plan design, administration, recordkeeping, and actuarial services. Additional services include defined benefit and cash balance plan administration, compliance services, HR outsourcing, and SECURE Act 2.0 guidance. The platform supports open architecture with multiple custodian options including Charles Schwab Bank and Mid Atlantic Trust Company, providing access to 20,000+ investment options including mutual funds and ETFs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AlliancePlan!: Retirement plan management platform providing website access for companies with both employer and employee access to monitor and make changes to plan accounts.

Products and services

• Retirement Plan Design Custom retirement plan design services tailored to company goals and employee needs, covering 401(k), 403(b), 457, Profit Sharing, Cash Balance, and Defined Benefit plans for U.S. employers and plan sponsors.
• Plan Administration Comprehensive retirement plan administration including eligibility and vesting calculations, employer contribution allocations, compliance testing, government filings, and annual report production for plan sponsors.
• Recordkeeping Retirement plan recordkeeping providing custodian connections, distribution and loan processing, quarterly reports, participant statements, and plan sponsor web access.
• Actuarial Services In-house actuarial expertise for Defined Benefit, Cash Balance, and hybrid retirement plans, including plan design optimization and tax savings potential analysis.
• Compliance Services Retirement plan compliance services including correction of errors through Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) and Voluntary Correction Program (VCP).
• AlliancePlan! for Employees A web-based retirement plan portal providing employees with self-service access to view account balances, change contribution rates, transfer between funds, update beneficiary information, and access forms and documents.
• AlliancePlan! for Employers A web-based retirement plan management platform providing employers with sponsor login access to monitor plan accounts, manage employee participation, and access plan administration tools.
• Defined Benefit Plan Services Actuarial and fully outsourced defined benefit administration services for plans ranging from single participant to thousands of participants with hundreds of millions in assets. Alliance personnel have been involved in the termination of over 100 defined benefit plans.
• Cash Balance Plans Hybrid retirement plan design combining characteristics of defined contribution and defined benefit plans, providing focused retirement benefits to select personnel such as owners and key employees.
• Plan Termination Services Fully outsourced defined benefit plan termination services including participant communications, service center, benefit election management, legal compliance, and annuity selection.
• HR Outsourcing Long-term and short-term HR support services including fractional HR support, HR compliance review, employee financial wellness, training review, and payroll/HRIS evaluation support for employers.
• SECURE Act 2.0 Compliance Guidance and updates on SECURE Act 2.0 retirement plan laws including tax credits, automatic enrollment requirements, and long-term part-time employee provisions for plan sponsors.
• Alliance Green (Cannabis Industry Retirement Plans) Specialized retirement plan design, administration, compliance, and recordkeeping for cannabis industry companies, addressing unique industry restrictions and compliance challenges through the Alliance Green initiative.

Quantifiable outcome

• Client saved over $206,400 over 8 years through improved plan design; potential savings up to $694,400
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Charles Schwab BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationCharles Schwab Bank serves as one of Alliance's custodial partners, providing trust and custody services for retirement plan assets held on the Alliance platform. This integration supports the open architecture approach by enabling plan assets to be held at a leading custodian.
• Mid Atlantic Trust CompanycoreTechnology or IntegrationMid Atlantic Trust Company serves as an alternative custodial partner on the Alliance platform, providing trust and custody services as part of the open architecture investment approach.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ADP Retirement Services: ADP's Retirement Services division offers 401(k) administration, recordkeeping, and integrated payroll to SMB and mid-market employers — directly competing with Alliance Pension Consultants for the same plan-sponsor segment, though at much greater scale with bundled payroll.
• Paychex Retirement: Paychex provides 401(k) plan administration and recordkeeping often bundled with its payroll and HR services for small and mid-size businesses, comparable to Alliance in target customer profile and plan-design scope, but with national scale.
• Empower Retirement: Empower is one of the largest US retirement plan recordkeepers (serving millions of participants across 401(k), 403(b), and DB plans), competing with Alliance for mid-market plan sponsors with a technology-led, bundled-fund platform.
• Fidelity Investments (Workplace Investing): Fidelity's Workplace Investing business provides 401(k), 403(b), and defined benefit recordkeeping and administration to employers of all sizes; overlaps with Alliance's mid-market and large-employer practices and competes on technology and proprietary fund lineup.
• Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services: Schwab provides custody and recordkeeping for employer retirement plans and is also one of Alliance's custodial integration partners; serves as a broad incumbent against which Alliance positions its open-architecture independent model.
• Principal Financial Group: Principal offers small/mid-market retirement plan administration, recordkeeping, and actuarial services including DB, cash balance, and 401(k) plans — directly comparable service mix to Alliance's defined benefit and hybrid plan practice.

Emerging players

• ForUsAll: ForUsAll is a tech-forward 401(k) recordkeeper focused on small and mid-size businesses, competing with Alliance on transparent flat pricing, modern participant UX, and integration with payroll providers — a more digitally native version of Alliance's value proposition.
• Human Interest: Human Interest provides low-cost 401(k) and SEP-IRA recordkeeping for small businesses, often bundled with payroll; comparable to Alliance's SMB segment but with a fully self-service digital onboarding model.
• Vestwell: Vestwell offers 401(k), 403(b), and pooled employer plan administration as a tech-enabled TPA for advisors and small businesses — an emerging competitor in the same advisor-driven distribution channel Alliance relies on.
• Guideline: Guideline provides low-fee 401(k) recordkeeping for small businesses with flat, transparent pricing and payroll integration — directly comparable to Alliance's value proposition for the smallest end of the SMB market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AlliancePension

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alliance Pension Consultants