Pooled Employer Plans Continue to Gain

Broadcast Retirement Network's Jeffrey Snyder discusses the maturation of Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) with Pentegra Retirement Services' Bruce Harrington.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Well, Bruce, it is truthful large to spot you. Thanks for joining america connected the programme this morning. Thanks for having me, Jeff.

And I'm truthful gladsome we could speech astir pooled leader plans, Bruce. This was portion of the SECURE Act, and your steadfast has had a important relation with the improvement and enlargement of pooled leader plans. Now that we're respective years in, I wanted to conscionable get a consciousness from your position and the firm's perspective, however are PEFs doing?

Are they truly taking off?

Bruce Harrington, Pentegra Retirement Services

Yeah, I would accidental they are. And successful fact, erstwhile SECURE archetypal came retired with PEFs, we evidently had a batch of activity, a batch of interest, radical trying to recognize them. But 2025 and truthful acold successful 2026, it's benignant of been a renaissance.

A batch much activity, a batch of interest, a batch of caller firms that hadn't thought astir PEFs successful the past are reasoning astir them now. And immoderate of those aboriginal adopters person done precise well. I tin deliberation of immoderate determination broker dealers and RA firms that person hundreds of adopting employers successful immoderate of the PEFs that we offer.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

So it sounds similar the intent of Congress was to grow status offerings to smaller plans. The situation person ever been the economics. It sounds similar the intent and the actuality are benignant of aligning here.

I don't wanna enactment words successful your mouth, but that's astatine slightest what I'm hearing. It sounds similar that.

Bruce Harrington, Pentegra Retirement Services

You know, I deliberation PEFs are expanding the adoption. I don't deliberation that they're needfully little costly than a azygous plan, but what they bash do is trim fiduciary liability for the program sponsors. And I deliberation a batch of sponsors are embracing them for that.

They're embracing them for the simplicity of the setup. You know, deliberation astir the simplification successful liability from an concern management, right? Every PEF has a 338 successful it.

And truthful instrumentality immoderate of that concern enactment distant from the program sponsor. And past audit fees, right? There's a important outgo savings for plans successful a PEF successful presumption of audit versus being successful a azygous leader plan.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, and it sounds like, you know, I cognize you said that possibly the economical differences aren't arsenic substantial, but it sounds like, you know, if you tin dephrase similar audit expenses, I deliberation a program implicit a 100 lives has to execute an audit, a certified audit for 5,500. I mean, that tin marque oregon interruption a smaller employer.