Our Team

SANDRA R. TURNER, CPC, QPA

Sandra R. Turner, CPC, QPA holds a Bachelor degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.   She is president and founder of Retirement Plan Specialists, Inc. a full service fee-based administration, actuarial and consulting firm for retirement and cafeteria plans.  She is a widely respected expert and an acknowledged leader in her field with over twenty-five years of experience. 

Sandra is a Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) and Qualified Plan Administrator (QPA) holding membership in the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA).  She has organized and instructed CPC courses in Houston, Jacksonville and Orlando, and has taught Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) courses at the University of North Florida and Rollins College.  She was also an adjunct instructor in the Certified Financial Planner series for the University of Central Florida and Florida Institute of Technology.

Ms. Turner was a member of the Florida delegation to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995.  Since then, she has worked extensively in Washington with an elite team of professionals fashioning the Pension Simplification Bill (passed in 1996) and, most recently, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act signed by President Bush on June 7, 2001. She has testified before Congress on behalf of pension reform and represents small businesses in a number of national forums.   In June 1998, Ms. Turner had the honor of being appointed by the Speaker of the House to the 1998 Tax Saver Summit held in Washington as a Small Business representative and advocate.  She was subsequently asked by Senator Bob Graham to be a panelist on his Retirement Plan Summit held in Tampa and Jacksonville.

On a local level, Sandra was appointed to the NFIB’s prestigious Florida Guardian Advisory Council.  She also held an appointment by the Florida Supreme Court to the Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee as the first laywoman in 1988 and served on the Ninth Judicial Circuit until July 1998.  She was a charter member of the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. 

Sandra recently joined the nationally acclaimed Small Business Council of America and serves on the Business Advisory Council.  She is also a member of the Central Florida Employee Benefits Council.

JEFFREY T. SPARKS, QPA, CLU, ChFC, FLMI

For over twenty-five years, Jeff has been working with clients in designing and administering retirement plans. He joined Retirement Plan Specialists, Inc. in 2000 as Vice President, coming from a large daily valuation recordkeeper where he was Vice President of Plan Administration.  At RPS, Jeff oversees the implementation, administration and ongoing qualification of all of the firm’s retirement plans.

Mr. Sparks received his Bachelor degree in Mathematics from North Carolina Wesleyan College.  He began his career at INA Life Insurance Company, now CIGNA, in the administration and design of defined benefit and defined contribution plans shortly after the enactment of ERISA.  He has attained the following designations.

 

• Qualified Plan Administrator - American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries

• Chartered Life Underwriter - American College

• Chartered Financial Consultant - American College

•   Fellow, Life Management Institute - Life Office Management Association

 In addition to these designations, he continues to attend various technical and educational programs hosted by the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, Sunguard Corbel, and Datair. He is also a member of PIX, the Pension Information Exchange, an interactive bulletin board of pension professionals dedicated to the discussion of current issues and ideas.

 Mr. Sparks is experienced in working with small one person plans all the way up to large corporations with thousands of employees. His expertise includes 401(k) and defined benefit plans.

 Mr. Sparks is a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, the Central Florida Employee Benefits Council and a local pension study group.

DONALD D. CHAPMAN E.A., M.A.A.A., M.S.P.A.

Donald D. Chapman has over thirty years of experience as a pension consultant and consulting actuary in the areas of employer retirement programs and employee benefits.  He has a wide spectrum of benefits experience gained from working in a large Boston actuarial consulting firm for over 10 years and as a consulting actuary in a small actuarial consulting firm for over 13 years.  In 1983, he became Vice President and co-founder of Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc. in West Springfield, MA and left in 1996 to assume the role of President in an actuarial consulting firm in Waltham, MA.  His practice today is as a pension consultant and consulting actuary to pension programs for small and large employers, union trustees’ pension plans and government pension plans.

 Mr. Chapman completed both undergraduate and graduate courses leading to a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Education from Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA. He continued postgraduate studies at Northeastern University in the area of education and the teaching of mathematics.  He also is a regular attendee at actuarial/technical educational programs given by the Society of Actuaries, the American Society of Pension Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries as well as the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute.

 Mr. Chapman’s experience runs the gamut of working with large multi-national corporations down to small closely held corporations. His experience also includes working with professional corporations and sole proprietorships. Areas of specialty include plan design, administration, plan documents, actuarial certifications, employee communications and training in both the defined benefit and defined contribution plan areas.

 Mr. Chapman is an Enrolled Actuary as designated by the Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury to perform actuarial services under ERISA.  He is also a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.  

Key Support Staff

        Jesse Earl, QKA

Jesse has over 14 years of experience in retirement plans, concentrating on 401(k) and profit sharing programs. She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University and obtained the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) designation from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.

                                                                    Willia A. Williams

She Attended MDCC College of Miami, FL. Where she majored in Business Administration. She has several years of experience in both the administrative and medical insurance fields. Willia is a marketing administrator and responsible for sales and marketing support.

 Lanny Turner

Lanny is a graduate from Southeastern College and majored in business and pastoral ministries. In addition to being a licensed minister, Lanning is training as a plan administrator and successfully completed the Pension Administrators course offered by the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.