The Department of Labor has proposed a regulation to expand access to affordable quality retirement saving options by clarifying the circumstances under which an employer group, association, or professional employer organization (PEO) may sponsor a workplace retirement plan. The proposed regulation clarifies the definition of “employers” for purposes of establishing or maintaining an individual account employee pension benefit plan. Currently, an employer or a PEO can sponsor a plan for client employers, commonly referred to as a multiple employer plan (MEP). The proposed regulation would allow different businesses to join a MEP and would allow certain working owners without employees to participate in a MEP sponsored by group or association who were not covered under the previous definition of an employers increasing the accessibility to these types of plans.
