Company Profile

Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc., located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been providing full-service employer sponsored retirement plan administration and consulting since 1991. Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. assists employers in the design, implementation, administration and communication of a wide range of retirement plans. We are committed to providing these services to our clients in a timely, accurate and cost-effective manner.

Our benefit professionals are dedicated to helping employers implement retirement plans that promote corporate goals and objectives, control costs and give employees a sense of security.

Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. takes the confusion out of plan administration duties and decision making by providing our clients with the consulting and technical expertise they need. We are committed to maintaining effective state-of-the-art computer systems and applications for administrative procedures which permits us to process our clients work more efficiently and ensures the highest standards of quality.

Our People

Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc.'s greatest resource is its team of experienced professionals. Our clients are served by employees who have professional qualifications and whose backgrounds include many years of experience in the pension and retirement field. Currently, we staff 50 employees with six principals, three with over 30 years of experience. Our staff includes three enrolled actuaries. We also employ 19 ASPPA-designated members (10 Certified Pension Consultants, 6 Qualified Pension Administrators, three Members of the Society of Pension Actuaries (M.S.P.A.)) and two Certified Employee Benefit Specialists. Our professionals are committed to providing our clients with friendly, courteous and responsive personalized service of superior quality.

MARK K. DUNBAR, President

Senior Consultant
M.A.A.A., M.S.P.A.

As an Enrolled Actuary and Senior Consultant, Mark possesses broad experience as a pension consultant, spanning over 30 years in the employee benefits field. His responsibilities have encompassed all phases of the retirement planning process, from the development of new business to plan design and technical research. Mark has specialized in the design options available under qualified retirement plans. Mark is a frequent speaker at seminars in both western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

A life-long Pittsburgher, Mark is a 1976 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, earning a B.A. degree in Mathematics. Mark is President of Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. In addition to his duties at Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc., Mark is a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, a Member of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), and an Enrolled Actuary. Mark was elected to ASPPA's Board of Directors in 2006 and is a co-chair of ASPPA’s Defined Benefit Government Affairs Sub-Committee.

JAMES V. BENDER

Senior Consultant

Jim Bender, Senior Consultant, has over thirty years of employee benefits experience and specializes in defined contribution plan and DC/DB combo plan　consulting. Jim has worked with 401(k), profit sharing, employee stock ownership (ESOP) and money purchase plans since the late 1970s.

Jim heads the Defined Contribution Plans Administrative Unit of the firm. He is directly involved with all aspects of new case marketing, plan implementation or conversion, plan design consulting, compliance testing and participant recordkeeping. Mr. Bender is also in charge of the firm's marketing, compliance reporting and plan design of the firm's various administrative alliances. Those include allocated account platforms of mutual funds and insurance companies serving as the asset provider to a plan and our payroll alliance, Pay(k)onnect. Jim has been a frequent speaker for continuing education seminars covering 401(k) plans, ESOP's, combo plans and new comparability designed plans.

With a BA degree from Clarion State College in 1976, Jim started his career as an Employee Benefits Manager at Gulf Oil and Cyclops Steel Corporations. Working with both large and small plans, Jim’s corporate experience and knowledge of allocated investment platforms, payroll and plan design consulting brings value-added expertise to Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc.’s clients.

GERALD F. ZAPF

Senior Consultant

As a Senior Consultant, Jerry has been in the employee benefits field since 1975. His responsibilities include administration and consulting work for medium to large-size corporate defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Jerry handles many of the client conversions from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans and has guided many clients through this difficult transition. Jerry is also the firms Managing Partner and Secretary/Treasurer. Jerry’s extensive experience and research of government regulations affecting qualified retirement plans brings value and added service to all of the firm's defined benefit and defined contribution clients.

He received his B.S. degree in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1974.

ROBERT L. McNULTY, CPC

Consultant/Shareholder

Bob McNulty has been with Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. since December of 1994. Bob joined the firm at the entry level after graduating Summa Cum Laude first in his class　from Waynesburg College with a BS degree in Mathematics and Computer Science earlier that same year. Working in the Special Plans Unit, Bob has worked primarily with smaller, closely held businesses with specific retirement benefits needs.

Late in 1999, the founding partners of Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. tenured Bob an ownership stake in the firm. Since then, Bob has been the partner in charge of the Special Plans Unit and is responsible for managing a staff that currently includes twenty employees that administer over one thousand client plans.

Bob is an active member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries and has achieved the designation of Certified Pension Consultant in that organization. In his practice, Bob specializes in all aspects of defined contribution plan design as well as provides consulting on a variety of defined benefit plan issues including cash balance designs. As an expert in cross-testing techniques, Bob utilizes a variety of methods to serve his clients' needs in terms of improving plan benefits and better accomplishing their goals. Bob is also active in new business development and an expert in governmental compliance requirements and resolution techniques.

REBECCA L. HUMMER, CPC, QPA

Consultant/Shareholder

Becky is a consultant with more than 20 years of employee benefits experience. She graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Mathematics with a focus on actuarial science. Becky’s experience includes responsibilities for defined benefit and defined contribution plan consulting.

Becky joined Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. in July of 1995, where she specializes in defined contribution plan consulting, focusing on 401(k) plans, money purchase plans and employee stock ownership (ESOP) plans. Becky was offered an ownership share in Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. in 2001.

Becky received her Qualified Pension Administrator designation in 1993 and her Certified Pension Consultant designation in 1999. She was the recipient of the 1993 Martin Rosenberg Achievement award for top performing ASPPA examination candidates. She is the founder and past Speaker of the ASPPA Benefits Council of Western Pennsylvania.

NICHOLAS J. ZAPF,  CPC, QPA

Consultant/Shareholder

Nick is a consultant within the Special Plans Unit of Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. His responsibilities include all aspects of plan administration/consulting including plan design, implementation and on-going administration with a focus on 401(k) plans of small employers. He is also active in marketing to prospective clients and providing analysis on design studies for both 401(k) and cash balance plan options.

A graduate of Grove City College, Nick earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. Nick joined Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. in June 2002 and was offered an ownership share in January of 2007.

Nick is a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) and has attained the professional designations of Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) and Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) sponsored by ASPPA.

SARA K. DeFILIPPO, E.A.

Actuary/Shareholder

Sara is an Enrolled Actuary and head of the Defined Benefit Plan Unit at Dunbar, Bender & Zapf, Inc. As manager of the actuarial group, she is responsible for overseeing the administration of approximately 450 defined benefit plans. Sara joined the firm as an entry level analyst in December of 2000 and was recently offered an ownership share in July of 2011. With over ten years of experience in the field, she is familiar with all aspects of the retirement plan process, including a wide variety of defined benefit plan designs. She is actively involved with design implementation, primarily working with small business owners to further increase their retirement plan capabilities. 

Specifically, Sara has gained extensive knowledge in the area of cash balance plans. In the fall of 2010, she participated in the development of a new Cash Balance module for the CPC designation sponsored by the ASPPA organization. 

Sara graduated from Westminster College in May of 1999, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science. She received her Enrollment in August of 2008 and is an active member of both the American Academy of Actuaries and the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA).