About SMI

Testimonials / Bios

Sheffler & Martin, Inc. (SMI) is a consulting and administration firm, established in 1987 as Larkin Pension Services, specializing in the design and administration of qualified retirement plans. SMI advises businesses on the benefits and requirements of retirement plans and assists its clients in establishing as well as maintaining new and existing plans.

SMI currently works with businesses employing one to thousands, and we tailor our expertise to meet each client’s needs. SMI has the confidence of many law and accountancy firms because of our excellent service, competence and ability to assure compliance with the constantly changing legislation in the pension field.

The objective of SMI is to fully maintain the qualified retirement arrangement to the satisfaction of the Employer, the IRS and our own high standard of quality. We pride ourselves on being available for consultation whenever our clients have concerns regarding any aspect of plan activity. We regard close client contact as an essential part of the administration process.

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“Not only are you and your people able to help with the challenges that always come along, but you also consistently perform the ordinary tasks with great professionalism.”
Arch Underwood, CLU, ChFC
First Vice President Financial Services
Driver Alliant Insurance Services

“I have been dealing with Sheffer & Martin and its predecessor firm for more than 10 years and have always been impressed with their responsiveness and attention to detail. I rely on Diane and her staff to provide me with projections for new as well as existing clients with very little notice. I have never been disappointed.”
Richard G. Blum, Managing Partner
Blum and Clark Accountancy Group

“Sheffer & Martin has been our Retirement Plan Administrator for about 10 years. They keep us abreast of the updates and new regulations from the IRS and have provided stellar services to our retirement plan offering. They’re also excellent at providing an immediate response to our requests and all the staff are very accommodating and knowledgeable! We will continue to work with Sheffler & Martin for a very long time.”
Lu Dalaten, Controller
CDC Small Business Finance

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Diane Martin, president of Sheffler & Martin, holds a B.A. in languages and linguistics from the University of West Virginia and completed her graduate studies in New York. Diane moved to San Diego and began as a pension administrator and consultant in 1986 with a benefit-consulting firm. Diane is credentialed through the American Society of Pension Actuaries (ASPA) as a Qualified Pension Administrator and is a member of Western Pension Benefits Conference.

Diane is the technical resource for 900 retirement plans and responsible for the management of the pension administration practice. She also speaks to professional organizations about retirement plan related issues.

Bill Sheffler, vice president of Sheffler & Martin, Inc. has a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and a M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Arizona. After service in the United States Army, he worked in the home office of Security Benefit Life, a mutual insurance company in Topeka, Kansas for six years. He then joined an international benefits consulting firm in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A native Californian, he returned to San Diego, where he established his actuarial consulting practice in 1985, for details see www.sheffler.com. Mr. Sheffler maintains credentials through several actuarial organizations, including the Society of Actuaries, the American Academy of Actuaries, the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and the American Society of Pension Actuaries. He is enrolled to perform actuarial services under ERISA, by the US Department of Treasury and the Department of Labor. Bill was recently appointed to the city of San Diego’s new Pension Reform Committee.

His extensive experience in the Qualified Plans area is applied to a wide range of clients. They include Corporate sponsored retirement plans, Municipal plans, Taft-Hartley (Multi-Employer) plans, as well as small employer (Keogh) plans.