A Modern Employer 401k Built for The Modern Workforce

A Pooled Employer Plan is a retirement plan among independent businesses that are not commonly owned or affiliated, and who want to share the costs and reduce the administrative burdens of providing a workplace retirement savings plan for their employees.

These independent businesses are referred to as “adopting employers” when they elect to join a PEP.

A Pooled Plan Provider is a group that sponsors and maintains a PEP for the benefit of Adopting Employers.

The PPP serves as the named fiduciary, as defined under ERISA Section 402(a). The PPP is the fiduciary responsible for processing participant claims and appeals, as well as being responsible to obtain the annual audit of the PEP on behalf of all Adopting Employers.

Offering a workplace retirement savings plan is most often done with the best of intentions, yet carries a heavy burden of accountability as a fiduciary. A PEP assembles a team of outsourced professional fiduciary service providers to manage your company’s retirement plan.

As the named fiduciary under ERISA Section 3(16), the Fiduciary Administrator is responsible for the day-to-day operations of your 401(k) plan.

Furthermore, the 3(16) serves as the fiduciary responsible for processing participant loan & distribution requests as well as making beneficiary determinations. Additionally, the 3(16) is responsible for procuring the required ERISA Fidelity Bond and the timely filing of the annual Form 5500 information returns for the PEP.

So, overall, the named 3(16) Fiduciary Administrator is required to perform all the functions necessary to maintain your plan’s ongoing compliance – relieving all Adopting Employers of these burdens.

The designated Investment Manager under ERISA 3(38), it is the fiduciary responsible for the selection and monitoring of the available investment options - in accordance with the PEP’s established Investment Policy Statement (IPS).

The 3(38) fiduciary is also responsible for ensuring that it is accessing the most cost-effective share classes of every investment vehicle, including the collection of any available revenue-sharing dollars for the benefit of the Plan.

Finally, the 3(38) fiduciary is responsible for managing the model allocation portfolios offered to all employee participants of Adopting Employers.

Your Plan Concierge plays a vital role in supporting Adopting Employers, providing strategic plan design consulting and tactical operational assistance. The Plan Concierge will also be able to help with satisfying your due diligence programs and fiduciary oversight functions.

Your Initial Responsibilities: 

• Evaluate the Platform
• Determine whether Costs are Reasonable
• Monitor PEP Service Providers

Your Ongoing Responsibilities:

• Managing Employee Census
• Timely Submission of Payroll & Data
• Validate Year-end Data for Annual Compliance Testing

One of the core duties of every fiduciary of an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan is to act solely in the best interests of plan participants and their beneficiaries. ERISA allows plan sponsors to outsource some of their duties to professional service providers.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor recognizes that plan sponsors will almost certainly hire service providers to assist them with fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities.

So, by choosing a PNI PEP 401k plan, you will have engaged outsourced professional fiduciary service providers - with the requisite knowledge and skill to expertly manage your 401k Plan.