Pooled Employer Plans and Other Multiple Employer Plans

Summary

This practice note focuses on pooled employer plans (PEPs), a statutorily recognized type of employer retirement plan that is treated as a single plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code's (IRC's) qualified plan rules despite participation in the plan by employees from multiple unrelated employers. PEPs are sponsored and operated by a third-party pooled plan provider (PPP) on behalf of adopting employers that elect to join the plan. PEPs were first authorized by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (Division O of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. No. 116-94)) (SECURE Act).