Contact Information

Cowden Associates, Inc. is a consulting and actuarial firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Using a total compensation based strategic planning approach, Cowden Associates provides a full range of consulting services and offers the expertise of a national firm at a reasonable cost. Our organization helps clients develop and maintain high quality compensation and benefits programs for all types of employees. Client industries include: financial institutions, governmental entities, healthcare, manufacturing, not-for-profit, school districts and Taft-Hartley.

Our services include:

• Compensation
  • Basic & Incentive Compensation
  • Executive Special Arrangements

• Health & Benefits
  • Medical/RX
  • Dental
  • Life & Vision
  • Disability/Paid Time Off
  • Voluntary Benefits
  • International

• Actuarial/Retirement
  • Defined Benefit Corporate, Government, Non-Profit, and Taft-Hartley Plans,
    • Post-retirement Medical and Other Post-Employment Benefits
  • Defined Contribution (401(k), 403(b),and 457 Plans)
  • Hybrid or Cash Balance
  • Excess Benefits
  • International

• Investment Advisory
  • Defined Contribution Fund Selection, Plan Design Consulting, and Benchmarking Analysis
  • Fiduciary Guidance
  • Defined Benefit Allocation Consulting and Risk Management
  • Employee Education

• Technology and Data Integration
  • Benefits Enrollment
  • Web-Based Communications and HR Compliance Center
  • Data Management

The Cowden Associates, Inc. Philosophy

Cowden Associates takes the consultative approach, linking business strategies to employee benefit programs. We form partnerships with our clients to determine objectives based on diverse needs. By working together on a strategic approach, we provide our clients with employee benefits programs that meet their overall short-term and long-term objectives. We build an understanding of your organization by asking questions, observing and listening. In this manner you are not merely receiving a pre-fabricated answer, but rather a unique solution for your circumstances..

Our Core Values

INTEGRITY Cowden Associates, Inc. (Cowden) is dedicated to its clients — its partners. Cowden’s professional team has committed themselves to the highest ethical standards as each client’s trusted consultant and acts on behalf of their best interest.

EXPERTISE Cowden’s elite team is comprised of specialists in the compensation, health and benefits, and retirement arenas whose national and global capabilities have been acquired through extensive experience.

RESULTS As your partner, Cowden helps create customized, integrated solutions that focus on your designated objectives in order to achieve success for today and in the future.

EMPLOYEES We value our professionals and pursue ways to assist them to achieve their potential.

COMMUNITY We do our best to enhance the world we live in to be a better place to live, work and grow.

Ethical Responsibility

Cowden conducts our business in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Legal compliance is one of the core assets of our ethical responsibility, and assists in defining the minimum essential duties and responsibilities in servicing our clients.

Cowden strives to act with the utmost integrity, not just in our most important corporate decisions, but in the actions taken every day by our employees. Ethical conduct is a high ideal, but often just means exercising common sense and sound judgement. It is the job of every Cowden employee to conduct business with the utmost integrity, thus, making Cowden a better company, a better partner with our clients, and a better corporate citizen.

Cowden’s Vision & Mission

We advance the objectives of our clients by focusing our integrity and expertise to achieve superior results.

To be a lifelong, trusted compensation, benefits and retirement advisor to our clients earning their loyalty through listening, anticipating their needs and creating value by utilizing our expertise, responsiveness, innovation and exemplary service.