Many times, small employers shy away from even considering a 401(k) retirement plan because they believe it will be too complicated and costly to establish. However, they may not be aware of all the options available, said Tom Lastuvka, co-founder of Qualified Plan Consultants LLC.

Lastuvka and Mick Fouts, both of whom started their careers with Principal Financial Group Inc., founded the third-party retirement plan administration and consulting firm two years ago and have since added six employees. Located at 3900 Westown Parkway, Suite D, in West Des Moines, QPC specializes in designing defined contribution plans and assisting clients in meeting end-of-year reporting requirements.

One of a handful of third-party administration firms in Greater Des Moines that specialize in 401(k) and related retirement plans, QPC takes a “team of experts” approach in working with other companies that specialize in selling plans or administering them, Fouts said. It provides its services on a fee-only basis.

“From a sales perspective, we never compete against brokers,” he said. “They’re essentially our clients. … We stick to the high-level advising part of the business. Because we don’t compete against our advisers (for commissions), it becomes more of a partnership.”

Working with large brokers such as John Hancock Life Insurance Co., The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and ING Groep NV as well as individual benefits brokers, QPC can provide a more tailored approach in comparison to large 401(k) administrators that provide a bundled program of services, Fouts said. Some of the specialty plans it offers include the Solo 401(k) option for owner-only businesses, Safe Harbor 401(k) plans that are exempt from many of the complex non-discrimination tests, as well as profit sharing plans, money purchase plans and new comparability plans.

“Small employers really get excited when we show them the new comparability plan with safe harbor provisions, because that allows an owner to really sock away a lot more money for retirement than they might otherwise be able to do,” Lastuvka said.

Similarly, many of the small employers the company is currently working with are looking at converting their Simple IRAs to traditional 401(k) plans because they have outgrown the benefits of the Simple IRA, he said.

Another alternative QPC specializes in is multiple-employer plans under Section 413(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. About 40 percent of its clients have established plans under that category. The firm currently serves more than 600 employers.

Though employers increasingly have access to online do-it-yourself planning programs such as 401(k) Easy, most small companies are seeking the one-on-one advice of a retirement plan professional, Lastuvka said.

“They want people to talk to,” he said. “That’s really our niche, to provide that local, hands-on service.”