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Multiple Employer Plans

Independent operational fiduciary Group Plan Systems, LLC has signed an agreement with JULY Business Services to serve as recordkeeper and third-party administrator to a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) for which GPS will serve as the Pooled Plan Provider (PPP). “After nearly 18 months of due diligence... READ MORE
Proposed guidance addressing the so-called “one-bad-apple” rule under the SECURE’s Act multiple employer plan (MEP) provisions was released March 25.  The proposed regulations address changes under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act providing an exception to the... READ MORE
The retirement industry got two new plan types via the SECURE Act—pooled employer plans (PEPs) and “groups of plans” (GoPs). But proposed regulations issued on Sept. 14  might effectively kill the GoP provision as a useful product tool. This piece reflects the author’s first look at the proposed... READ MORE
The year 2021 is upon us, and with that, the SECURE Act’s much-anticipated pooled employer plans (PEPs) are coming online. Many firms have already announced that they plan to offer PEPs, but will they be a game-changer or slow to get off the ground? A recent report by Cerulli looks at some of the... READ MORE
A bipartisan trio of U.S. Senators has introduced legislation that would expand Multiple Employer Plan access to 403(b) plans, along with other MEP enhancements. The Improving Access to Retirement Savings Act—introduced last week by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) along... READ MORE
For reasons that elude me—other than perhaps because it has a “click bait” headline—the folks at Bloomberg recently published an “op-ed” titled, “401(k) Plans No Longer Make Much Sense for Savers.” Sadly, it’s gotten some attention, aided and abetted even by industry publications, some of which... READ MORE
That the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) provides a financial safety net for millions of retirees and plan participants. But what are those threads made of? The Congressional Research Service (CRS) offers an answer. In “Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC): A Primer,” the CRS... READ MORE
Retirement security has received some much-needed attention in bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate. The Retirement Security Act of 2019 was introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), with a goal of helping small... READ MORE
At first blush, many in the industry assumed that the Department of Labor’s proposed rules expanding access to multiple employer retirement plans would include allowing for open MEPs by unrelated employers. The idea hasn’t gone away, but it’s not included in the current DOL proposal. Issued in... READ MORE
ERISA was enacted to provide national protections for participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans – but proposed legislation would undermine those protections. A bill introduced in the Senate in July would create a new type of “open” multiple employer plan (MEP), an employee benefit plan... READ MORE
Wasting no time, the Labor Department has delivered its proposed rule to expand access to multiple employer retirement plans to the Office of Management and Budget for review.It was less than a month ago that President Trump signed an executive order directing the Departments of Labor and Treasury... READ MORE
Step inside the chamber, and we will gaze at the crystal ball. ASPPA’s Sept. 11 invitation offered a look at seven trends in the retirement industry that will have a significant impact — and, in fact, already are. In “Didn’t See THAT Coming: Seven Industry Trends Will Shape the Future,” American... READ MORE
Multiple employer plans (MEPs) continue to generate plenty of discussion.The reason is the Small Business Employees Retirement Enhancement Act, introduced earlier this month by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), which includes provisions regarding so-called “open” MEPs, a type of employee benefit plan that... READ MORE
Previous regulatory actions by the Department of Labor have made open multiple employer plans a less attractive option for employers, but legislative fixes proposed by Congress could significantly improve the overall appeal of MEPs, a speaker explained at ASPPA’s 2017 Annual Conference. Noting... READ MORE
A congressional hearing on “Regulatory Barriers Facing Workers and Families Saving for Retirement” ran the gamut from the fiduciary regulation to multiple employer plans to state-run programs.The hearing, by the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor... READ MORE
Third party administrators are, at their core, all about service. It’s their bread and butter, their raison d’etre. So while any employer seeks and values engaged employees, they are even more desirable for service providers, since their commitment and energy spell better service for clients. And... READ MORE
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued its fiscal year (FY) 2016 annual report, a compilation that provides data on the agency’s activities, its health and the assistance it has provided to retirement plans in FY 2016.Overview of the YearThe PBGC made benefit payments of $5.8... READ MORE
Are multiple employer plans (MEPs) — single retirement plans involving two or more unrelated employers — on the brink of becoming more widespread and a more important part of the retirement plan universe? Perhaps.Momentum has been building for many years and has accelerated lately. In 2014, the... READ MORE
The Senate Finance Committee has cleared two pieces of retirement legislation that are now pending before the full Senate, including one that includes a new brand of multiple employer plan (MEP) for the private sector.Meet the PEP — and the PPPOne of the bills, the Retirement Enhancement and... READ MORE
Last week, House Republicans released the first of six documents detailing their policy agenda, a portion of which included recommendations to “build retirement security through the private retirement system.” The most notable aspect of the report, however — a blueprint from the Task Force on... READ MORE

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