Janet M. Thompson, CPC

Janet Thompson has 25 years of experience in employee benefits and specializes in the design and administration of defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Janet is an owner of The Cottonwood Group and leads the firm’s defined contribution practice. She also serves as client relationship manager for many of the firm’s defined benefit and defined contribution clients.

Before forming The Cottonwood Group, Janet was managing director of the Kansas City office of Palmer & Cay and a partner with DeFrain Mayer – both predecessors to Cottonwood. Before she joined DeFrain Mayer in 1989, Janet was Manager of the Kansas City office of the Alexander & Alexander Consulting Group. She has also held prior consulting and administrative positions with Business Men’s Assurance Company (BMA), Fringe Benefits Design (FBD) and Deferred Compensation Administrators (DCA), a Minneapolis-based firm.

Janet received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Welfare from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the American Society of Pension Actuaries and has earned the designation of Certified Pension Consultant. Janet also sits on the steering committee of the Employee Benefits Institute of Kansas City, acting as chair in 2002.