Pension Resource Institute Announces Leadership Appointments Across Retirement Plan Ecosystem

Annie Messer named PRI President; Haley Erickson appointed Chief Compliance Officer of Group Plan Systems

Appointments mark culmination of two-year plan to expand leadership and capabilities across PRI, GPS and Fiduciary Law Center

SAN DIEGO, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pension Resource Institute (PRI), an ERISA compliance and practice management firm, today announced leadership appointments and team additions across PRI and its affiliated firms, Group Plan Systems (GPS) and Fiduciary Law Center (FLC), that strengthen offerings across its retirement plan ecosystem.

Together, PRI, GPS and FLC give broker-dealers, RIAs, banks, trust companies and independent retirement plan advisors a connected way to build retirement plan businesses, combining compliance infrastructure, pooled employer plan administration, practice management resources, legal support and unlimited home office consulting.

Annie Messer has been named President of PRI. Haley Erickson has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer of GPS, the largest independent pooled employer plan (PEP) fiduciary, currently operating or in the launch phase of more than 30 PEPs.

"Haley's and Annie's appointments are the culmination of a two-year plan to create an integrated model of legal and operational fiduciary expertise across our ecosystem," said Jason Roberts, Esq., Founder and CEO of PRI and Managing Partner of GPS. "Their promotions deepen our leadership team at an important time for the retirement plan market. Haley understands the operational detail behind a well-run retirement plan and has earned this role through her technical command and client focus. Annie has led our member firm relationships through an important period of growth, and her promotion strengthens PRI's ability to support firms building and scaling retirement plan businesses."

Expanding Leadership and Capabilities Across PRI and GPS

Messer's promotion positions PRI to support member firms as more wealth management enterprises build dedicated retirement plan capabilities in response to state plan mandates, plan formation activity and evolving advisor business models. She joined PRI in 2023 after 14 years leading retirement and fiduciary initiatives at Cambridge Investment Research, most recently serving as PRI's President of Member Relations.

"PRI's role has always been to help member firms build retirement plan businesses on a strong compliance and practice management foundation," Messer said. "As more wealth management firms look to retirement plans as a source of organic growth, my focus is helping our members turn that opportunity into a compliant, scalable business."

In her newly created role, Erickson will lead GPS's efforts to harmonize the client experience across its PEP platform as GPS moves from plan-by-plan execution to a more integrated and technology-forward service structure. To support Erickson's expanded scope, GPS recently added Justina Feliz as Fiduciary Consultant. Feliz is taking on several of Erickson's prior day-to-day compliance responsibilities and leading the GPS onboarding process for new pooled plans.

Erickson brings 15 years of third-party administrator experience to the role, with expertise in all aspects of retirement plan administration, compliance testing and reporting. She joined GPS two years ago after several management and consulting roles where she focused on translating complex ERISA topics, from testing failures to plan correction procedures, into practical guidance for advisors and plan sponsors. Erickson graduated from Duquesne University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and holds the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) credential.

"GPS has built a strong foundation for firms that want to compete in the group plan market," Erickson said. "My focus is making sure clients have a consistent, predictable experience as they build and manage that business and, above all, that their plans are administered according to GPS's processes for meeting obligations under ERISA and the Tax Code."

PRI also recently named Erin Fager its first Director of Marketing and Communications to support increased demand from advisors for employer-facing content and related resources. Fager will continue to lead marketing and communications at FLC in a concurrent capacity, a role she assumed in January 2025 after nearly eight years at Prime Capital.

Completing a Planned Leadership Transition and Adding Legal Depth

The appointments coincide with a planned transition for Steve Niehoff, who has served as Chief Operating Officer across GPS and related PRI businesses. Effective August 1, Niehoff will step back from daily operations while continuing to support PRI, GPS and affiliated entities as an independent contractor in a controller capacity. At GPS and PRI, employees who previously reported to Niehoff will report to Erickson and Messer, respectively.

"Steve has played an important role in growing PRI, GPS and FLC, and we have worked with him for some time on a transition plan that allows him to step back from daily duties while continuing to support PRI, GPS and affiliated entities' financial operations," Roberts said. "That plan is moving forward as intended, with Haley and Annie stepping into expanded roles designed to help firms build retirement plan businesses with greater consistency, scale and compliance confidence."

"I'm very grateful for the opportunity to continue working with companies and people I care about deeply," Niehoff said. "At the same time, I'm excited to start my own consulting firm, and be able to offer service to a wider range of firms."

FLC also welcomed Jason Benham as a full-time associate. Benham brings more than two decades of retirement plan industry experience, including 14 years at LPL Financial and more than eight years at Independent Financial Group, where he led the firm's retirement plan division. He recently earned his law degree and was admitted to the State Bar of California.

About Pension Resource Institute
Pension Resource Institute (PRI) is an ERISA compliance and practice management firm serving broker-dealers, RIAs, banks, trust companies and independent retirement plan advisors. Founded in 2010, PRI supports more than 70 member firms and roughly 50,000 financial professionals.

PRI helps firms compete in the retirement plan marketplace with a configurable compliance platform, training, document resources, practice management tools, rule monitoring and unlimited home office consulting. Firms use PRI as the compliance foundation for building, managing and growing retirement plan businesses within their existing systems and workflows. The PRI ecosystem also includes Group Plan Systems and Fiduciary Law Center. For more information, visit www.pension-resources.com.

About Group Plan Systems
Group Plan Systems (GPS) is the largest independent pooled employer plan provider, currently operating or building over 30 pooled employer plans and other group plan arrangements. GPS fills multiple legal roles for retirement plans, so employers don't have to, including the ERISA Section 402(a) Named Fiduciary, ERISA Section 3(16) Plan Administrator and Plan Sponsor roles. Part of the Pension Resource Institute ecosystem, GPS works with PRI and FLC to help financial institutions, wealth management firms and advisors build and manage retirement plan programs. GPS provides the pooled employer plan platform, while PRI provides the compliance framework, practice management resources and consulting support behind those programs, and FLC provides legal support. For more information, visit www.groupplansystems.com. 

About Fiduciary Law Center
Fiduciary Law Center (FLC) is a boutique law firm serving retirement plan sponsors, service providers and related businesses. Part of the Pension Resource Institute ecosystem, FLC offers legal services at a discount to PRI member firms. For more information, visit www.fiduciary.law.

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SOURCE Pension Resource Institute