A Multiple Employer Plan is a defined contribution retirement plan established by one plan sponsor which is then adopted by one or more participating employers. The adopting employers may have a common link, such as an industry association, or may have no shared connection at all beyond that of their participation in the same plan.

Long utilized as the underlying plan structure for Professional Employer Organization (employee leasing) plans, MEPs have expanded to include unrelated employers seeking a streamlined approach to plan oversight. While many employers are best served by retaining their traditional single employer plan, MEPs offer significant advantages to others. Employers adopting a sound Multiple Employer Plan eliminate their plan audit and Form 5500 filings, simplify plan operations and achieve a profound reduction in fiduciary liabilities.

Because properly structured Multiple Employer Plans transfer the roles of plan sponsor, trustee and named fiduciary away from their adopting employers, they generally outsource most of their fiduciary responsiblitiy to an independent fiduciary. Mike Montgomery, Managing Principal of Montgomery Retirement Plan Advisors, serves as such a fiduciary (3(38) Investment Manager) for a national Multiple Employer Plan by the name of The Platinum 401k Plan. As the Investment Manager fiduciary, his role includes oversight of fiduciary processes, including selection and monitoring of the available fund menus.

Get more information on The Platinum 401k Plan

To read the article by Mike Montgomery on Multiple Employer Plans published in DCPI (Defined Contribution Plan Institute) Exchange, Click Here