Why Aren’t PEPs ‘Popping?”

Pooled Employer Plans – or “PEPs” as they’re more commonly referred to, were greeted with much excitement when they became a reality in the SECURE Act – but are they living up to that hype?  And if not, why not?
 
Created by the SECURE Act in 2019 and first approved for use in 2021, a PEP is a type of 401(k) plan that allows unrelated businesses to participate in one plan managed by a pooled plan provider (PPP).  In fact, a recent survey found that more than half of smaller employers surveyed by the Secure Retirement Institute (SRI) that are considering a DC plan are interested in learning more about PEPs—regardless of whether they have a retirement plan currently in place.  SRI found that employers with 10–99 employees are significantly more interested in learning more about PEPs, especially the largest (small) employers (those with 50–99 employees).
 
And yet – despite the launch of a number of new PEPs, employer interest to date doesn’t quite seem to have lived up to expectations.  Besides that, the 2022 NAPA 401(k) Summit Insider rated PEPs as fourth-most overhyped trend (granted, there was a big gap between that and #1). 
 
This week we’d like to know what you are seeing – or not - and why you think that’s (not) the case. 

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* 1. What's your sense of the current interest in Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) by EMPLOYERS (generally speaking)?

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* 2. What's your current interest in Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) for the employers you support (generally speaking)?

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* 3. What's holding back PEPs (check all that apply)?

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* 4. Do you expect the current PEP adoption rate to...

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* 5. Suggestions for those sponsoring/promotion PEPs to increase/enhance/expand their reach (or not)?

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* 6. Other comments about PEPs, your feelings about PEPs, plan sponsor perspectives on PEPs, the future interest (or lack thereof) in PEPs, or life in general?

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* 7. What is your role working with retirement plans?

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* 8. What size plans do you PRIMARILY work with?

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* 9. Suggestions for future survey questions?  Seriously - what would you like to know about/from your fellow NAPA-Net readers?  Or what would you like to be asked?

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* 10. All responses are confidential, of course - but just in case you would like a response - or want me to know you responded - or just want to say hi - here's your chance to do so (don't forget your email)!

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