DeMars Pension Consulting Services

What DeMars Pension Consulting Services does

DeMars Pension Consulting Services, Inc. is a fee-for-service retirement plan consulting and administration firm headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, founded in June 1979 by Jim DeMars. The firm provides plan design, implementation, legal consulting, recordkeeping, ongoing administration, annual compliance testing (ADP/ACP, coverage, IRS Form 5500 and PBGC filings), actuarial services for defined benefit plans, and consulting for plan amendments, terminations, mergers, and IRS/DOL audits. It serves qualified retirement plans of all major types, including 401(k) (including Safe Harbor), profit-sharing (including age-weighted and new comparability), defined benefit, and cash balance plans, for clients ranging from sole proprietors to corporations with over 1,000 employees.

The firm's service delivery rests on a 30-person staff with more than 700 combined years of industry experience, including nine plan administrators averaging 30 years of experience and an in-house ERISA attorney (John Finn, J.D.) with 43 years of experience. Underlying technology is conventional pension administration tooling: Relius Pension Software for annual reviews and compliance, supplemented by a ShareFile-based client portal for secure file transfer. The firm holds Centre for Fiduciary Excellence service provider recognition and is employee-owned, with nine employee stockholders.

The business operates on a fee-for-service, quote-based pricing model with multi-year engagements and no publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven, supported by broker/advisor relationships managed by a dedicated Strategic Alliances function, a quarterly newsletter library for top-of-funnel education, and downloadable proposal request and census forms for prospective clients. With over 800 clients and 40+ years of continuous operation, DeMars functions as a stable, mature, mid-market professional services firm rather than a growth-stage technology business.

Name

DeMars Pension Consulting Services

Legal name

DeMars Pension Consulting Services, Inc.

Website

https://demarspension.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DeMars Pension Consulting Services is an employee-owned, fee-for-service retirement plan consulting and administration firm in Overland Park, Kansas, serving 800+ U.S. employers ranging from sole proprietors to 1,000+ employee corporations with DC, DB, and cash balance plan design, recordkeeping, compliance testing, and actuarial services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retirement Plan Administration Services

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Employee Benefits Brokerage & Consulting (FSAEADAC)

Keywords

• Pension consulting services
• Retirement plan administration
• Defined contribution plans
• Defined benefit plans
• Compliance testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Overland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-for-Service Consulting and Administration: The firm operates as a fee-for-service consulting firm providing comprehensive retirement plan services including design, legal consulting, recordkeeping and administrative services. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for ongoing plan administration and consulting engagements with over 800 clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DeMars Pension Consulting Services is a fee-for-service consulting firm providing design, legal, consulting, recordkeeping and administrative services for qualified retirement plans. The firm serves more than 800 employer clients ranging in size from one to over a thousand employees, administering 401(k), profit-sharing, defined benefit, and cash balance plans along with annual compliance testing and government reporting.

Product overview

DeMars Pension Consulting Services is a fee-for-service consulting firm offering a unified platform of retirement plan administration and consulting services. The core offering includes Plan Design and Implementation Services, Defined Contribution Plan Recordkeeping and Administration, Defined Benefit Plan Actuarial Services, Annual Compliance Testing and Government Reporting, and general Consulting Services. The firm supports multiple qualified retirement plan types including 401(k) Plans (including Safe Harbor variants), Profit-Sharing Plans (including Age-Weighted and New Comparability variants), Defined Benefit Plans, and Cash Balance Plans. Additional services include a Client Portal for secure file transfer and quarterly newsletters providing regulatory updates. With over 40 years of experience serving more than 800 clients, the firm positions itself as a full-service partner from plan design through ongoing administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plan Design and Implementation Services

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• American FundssupportingOthersAffiliated investment fund provider listed on the Resources page as a partner for retirement plan investment options.
• Empower RetirementsupportingOthersAffiliated retirement plan service provider listed on the Resources page for plan administration and investment services.
• John HancocksupportingOthersAffiliated pension and retirement services provider listed on the Resources page for retirement plan administration.
• KTradesupportingTechnology or IntegrationAffiliated online trading platform provider listed on the Resources page for investment management services.
• Colonial Surety CompanysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Colonial Surety Company as a leading provider of ERISA/Pension Fidelity Bonds. Colonial Surety is a national insurance company registered in all 50 states, providing insurance products since 1930, and is the largest direct seller of ERISA/Pension Fidelity Bonds in the U.S. DeMars refers clients to Colonial for ERISA bonding and fiduciary liability insurance services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• American Funds (Capital Group): Mutual fund provider partnered with DeMars for retirement plan investment options. Enabling/ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but operates in the broader employer-sponsored retirement value chain.
• Wolters Kluwer Pension & Benefit Administration: Vendor of the Relius Pension Software platform that DeMars uses for annual reviews and administration. Enabling/ecosystem relationship rather than a competitor, but also offers administration services through related entities, making it a partially adjacent incumbent.

Broad incumbents

• Empower Retirement: One of the largest US retirement plan recordkeepers, providing administration, investment, and compliance services across the full plan-size spectrum. Comparable recordkeeping functionality to DeMars but at vastly larger scale and with bundled investment offerings.
• Fidelity Workplace Investing: Major recordkeeper offering 401(k) and other qualified plan administration, investment menus, and participant services for employers of all sizes. Provides overlapping administration services but competes primarily on scale and integrated investment platform.
• Stifel Independent Advisors (Corporate Retirement): Large diversified financial services firm with corporate retirement plan advisory, recordkeeping, and consulting offerings. Overlaps with DeMars in employer retirement plan advisory but operates at broader scale and across geographies.

Direct peers

• BlueStar Retirement Services: Mid-market third-party plan administrator offering design, recordkeeping, consulting, and compliance for qualified retirement plans. Comparable to DeMars in scope (full-service administration) and reliance on experienced pension administrators.
• PenServ Plan Services: Independent third-party administrator providing qualified retirement plan design, recordkeeping, and compliance services to SMB and mid-market employers. Closely comparable to DeMars in service mix (DC and DB plans, compliance testing, Form 5500) and target client segment.
• Summit Group Retirement Planners: Independent retirement plan consulting and administration firm serving businesses with qualified plans. Comparable full-service approach with design, recordkeeping, and compliance offerings aimed at the employer-sponsored retirement market.
• DATAIR / DailyAccess Corporation: Long-standing third-party administrator and compliance testing firm for qualified retirement plans, with both software and service offerings. Overlaps with DeMars in serving smaller plan sponsors seeking outsourced administration and testing.
• National Pension Services: Third-party pension administration firm providing recordkeeping, compliance testing, and consulting for 401(k), profit-sharing, and defined benefit plans to SMB clients. Direct competitor in the same fee-for-service retirement plan administration niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/demars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 DeMars Pension Consulting Services