Changes in the retirement-plan administration sector have helped Randall & Hurley Inc., of Spokane, boost its revenues greatlyby 40 percent last yearand increase its customer base by 150 companies.


The 9-year-old Spokane company, owned and operated by Clay Randall and Lynn Hurley, handles retirement plans on behalf of employers, the bulk of which are small to medium-sized businesses in the Spokane-Coeur dAlene area.


Randall & Hurley doesnt disclose its annual revenues, but Hurley says that due to several fortuitous changes in the benefits market, the companys billings made its 40 percent jump in 2002. She expects that this year, theyll be up by 20 percent from last year.


The company has begun handling retirement-plan administration for 150 new clients in the past 18 months, raising its client base to 800 companies.


Randall & Hurley currently employs 15 people and would like to add a few more. The company, however, doesnt have the space for additional staff members in its offices on the ninth floor of the Bank of America Financial Center downtown, Randall says while sitting in an office that once had been the companys conference room. Its looking to move to larger quarters elsewhere in the building, and it likely wont add any more people until it does so, he says.


The retirement plans the company administers include defined-benefit plans, typically referred to as pensions, and defined-contribution plans, the most common of which are 401(k) plans. The company also handles a small amount of other benefit administration, such as cafeteria plans, through which an employees pre-tax income can be set aside for medical expenses.


Last year was a big year for us for a lot of different reasons, Randall says.


One factor was an increase in demand for defined-benefit plans, which have become more attractive for some businesses due to tax-law changes in recent years. Those changes involved increasing the amounts employers can contribute to defined-benefit plans and 401(k)s, enabling them to shelter more assets for their retirement and their employees retirement.


Under a defined-benefit plan, an employer contributes money to an investment account from which an employee who retires receives a monthly benefit. The amount of that benefit typically depends upon several factors, including the employees years of service and age at retirement.


Such plans are federally insured and are more heavily regulated than defined-contribution plans. They require pension actuarial work, which is Hurleys specialty. She is an enrolled actuary with the Society of Actuaries, and according to that organization, she is the only enrolled pension actuary in the Inland Northwest.


Hurley says companies that establish defined-benefit plans typically fall into one of two diverse categories: sole professional practices, such a dentist or an attorney, and companies with 200-plus employees.


Randall & Hurley has enjoyed growth in demand for defined-benefit plans from both camps, she says.


This is a good niche to have, she says.


401(k) growth


Still, about 75 percent of Randall & Hurleys revenue comes from its 401(k) work, which has been growing as well.


Randall says one trend in the 401(k) market is that large mutual-fund providers have gotten out of retirement-plan administration and have transferred those responsibilities to other companies.


Our company is one of the beneficiaries of that outsourcing, he says.


Randall & Hurley has formed nonexclusive alliances through which the Spokane company has taken over 401(k) administration for a handful of large mutual-fund providers. From an employers perspective, Randall says, the transfer is relatively seamless, and most of the Spokane companys growth in the 401(k) area involves larger retirement plansthose for companies with 100 or more employees.


Randall & Hurley also has generated additional activity with its established clientele, as more of them have requested more-frequent reporting of investment performance.


Randall says that a few years ago, most employers had retirement-fund statements sent to employees annually. Now that the stock market has gone through bearish conditions and employees have become more anxious about their retirement savings, more businesses have gone to quarterly reporting and are offering online access to account information.


Even many small businesses, which Randall says are Randall & Hurleys bread and butter, have stepped up their efforts to give employees information about their retirement accounts.


Most of the companies Randall & Hurley serves employ between 10 and 40 people, but it administers plans for much larger employers. Its largest Spokane-area customer has 800 employees, and its largest customer is an Arizona company with 25,000 employees.


The company also has customers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, and California.


Randall has worked in retirement-plan administration since 1983. He has a law degree from the University of Idaho and an advanced tax-law degree from New York University.


Hurley has a bachelors degree in mathematics and statistics from Washington State University and has worked as an actuary for about 20 years.