Services

Pattison Pension provides plan design, administration, and consulting services for organizations of all sizes. We assist in all stages of the plan life cycle, even if you've already established a plan and run into problems or you need help with a difficult termination. Our areas of focus include:

Design

  • ERISA 401(k) Plans
  • Cash Balance Plans
  • Defined Benefit Plans
  • ERISA 403(b) Retirement Plans
  • Non-ERISA/Governmental 401(k) Plans
  • Solo(k) and Solo DB Plans
  • Prevailing Wage/Davis-Bacon Plans
  • Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)
  • Combined 401(k)/Employee Stock Ownership Plans (KSOP)
  • Rollover as Business Start-Up Arrangements (ROBS)
  • Non-ERISA 403(b) Retirement Plans
  • 457 Retirement Plans
  • Cafeteria Plans

Administration

  • Plan accounting
  • Discrimination testing
  • Recordkeeping
  • Audit support
  • Governmental reporting
  • Preparation of plan notices
  • Completion of PBGC annual filings
  • Terminating employee benefit calculations and notices
  • Combined plan limitation calculations

Consulting

  • Employee training and education
  • Mid-year projection and modeling
  • Tax planning support
  • Merger and acquisition support
  • Succession planning support
  • Recordkeeper/custodian changes
  • Governmental inquiries

partners

Pattison Pension is a truly independent third party administrator. What that means is we aren't tied to any one custodian, accountant, investment advisor, or ERISA attorney. We work with any willing parties and represent our clients first. This keeps fees low, fosters an environment of trust and accountability, and yields the best solutions available.

We are constantly adding to the list of recordkeepers we work with to be able to provide the best recommendations to our clients. Some of the recordkeepers we currently partner with are:

  • American Funds / Capital Group
  • Nationwide
  • John Hancock
  • Principal
  • Empower
  • T. Rowe Price
  • TransAmerica
  • Voya
  • CUNA Mutual
  • Ascensus
  • ADP
  • Vestwell
  • Lincoln Financial Group

If you use a platform that isn't listed, or if you are an advisor or CPA that would like to work with us, please contact us to start a conversation on how we can work together!

About

Ron Pattison, CPA

President & Founder

Originally from Montana, Ron graduated from the University of Montana with a B.A. in Business Administration specializing in Accounting. Ron moved to New Mexico in 1982 to work in Public Accounting and became a CPA in August of 1984. He worked as the manager of a Defined Contribution practice group in the Albuquerque Office for a national consulting firm before leaving in December of 1990 to start Pattison Pension.

Since then, Ron has grown Pattison Pension organically by building a solid reputation in the New Mexico market and providing outstanding, tailored service. Ron has been involved in a number of different business organizations in the state, served on boards of public and private companies, and can be found at most Lobo basketball and football games.

Zach Telford, CPA

Vice President & Partner

After serving 4 years in the U.S. Air Force as a cryptolinguist and working as a manufacturing operations manager, Zach graduated at the top of his class from the University of New Mexico in 2011 with a Bachelors of Business Administration, focused in Management Information Systems. He earned a Master of Accounting from UNM in 2015, then went on to become a CPA in November of 2016 while working in public accounting as a financial statement and IT auditor.

Zach joined the firm in September of 2017 and has continually leveraged his past experiences to improve processes at Pattison. He became the first partner in January of 2024 after demonstrating a high level of performance as a consultant, manager, and sales representative. He is an ASPPA member and currently certified as a Qualified 401(k) Consultant.

Commitment

Pattison Pension maintains a culture focused on customer service and solid, useful products. We strive to be better than good enough: we want to be a valued, long-term partner for your organization and the professionals that support it. Since 1990, we have demonstrated what the merger of high professional standards and strong management can provide to our clients. We have grown from a few dozen clients to our current state, all without compromising our signature high quality service or reasonable professional fees. We pride ourselves on providing thoughtful, recurring analysis and prudent, tailored solutions to all benefit solutions we provide well beyond the initial design phase.

Please contact us to meet our team and learn more about why we're the right partner for your organization.