Labor Department headquarters in Washington. (Photo: Mike Scarcella/ALM)
The Labor Department issued Thursday a notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to implement the registration requirements for "pooled plan providers" pursuant to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) Act of 2019.
The Secure Act amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to establish a new type of multiple employer plan called a pooled employer plan that must be administered by a person called a pooled plan provider.
The law allows pooled plan providers to start operating PEPs beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, but requires pooled plan providers to register with the Labor and Treasury secretaries before they begin operations, Labor explained.
"By allowing small businesses to pool their resources into plans, the rule proposed today will make cost-effective retirement options available to even more employees across the nation," Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said in a statement.
"Pooled employer plans will give employers, especially small unrelated employers, a way of offering their employees a workplace retirement savings option with reduced burdens and costs," added Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, head of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration.
