The Department of Labor has issued final regulations on registration requirements for pooled plan providers administering pooled employer plans. The final regulations retain much of the same structure as the proposed rule issued last August, with some added clarification on registration requirements.
Background
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) established a new structure whereby a group of unrelated employers could participate in a single defined contribution plan as of January 1, 2021. Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) must be administered by a Pooled Plan Provider (PPP), which must register with the Department of Labor (DOL) before commencing operations.
The DOL’s final regulations regarding the registration process for PPPs include:
Initial registration filings. In general, a PPP is required to make an initial registration filing 30 days prior to beginning operations. However, registration filings made before February 1, 2021, are not required to be submitted 30 days in advance; instead, these filings are only required to be made at any time prior to beginning operations. The final regulations state that a PPP begins operations when it starts operating its first PEP.
Content requirements for an initial filing include:
- Legal business name and any trade name (DBA);
- Federal EIN;
- Business phone and mailing address;
- Website address of public sites used to market PPPs or provide information on PEPs;
- Name, address, phone, and email of designated compliance officer of the PPP;
- The name and address of the agent for service of legal process for the PPP;
- The approximate date when the PPP plans to begin operations;
- A description of the administrative, investment, and fiduciary services that will be offered or provided in connection with the PEPs, including a description of the role of any affiliates in such services;
- A statement disclosing any ongoing federal or state criminal proceeding, or any federal or state criminal convictions, related to the provisions of services to, operation of, or investments of, any employee benefit plan against the PPP, or any officer, director, or employee of a PPP, provided that disclosure of any criminal conviction may be omitted if the conviction, or related term of imprisonment served, is outside 10 years of the date of the registration; and
- A statement disclosing any ongoing civil or administrative proceedings in any court or administrative tribunal by the federal or state government or other regulatory authority against the PPP, or any officer, or director, or employee of the PPP, involving a claim or fraud or dishonesty with respect to any employee benefit plan, or involving the mismanagement of plan assets.
- Any change to the information in the initial registration filing;
- A significant change to the PPP’s corporate or business structure;
- A written notice of an administrative enforcement action related to an employee benefit plan received by the PPP;
- A legal finding of fraud or dishonesty by a court or agency; or
- A notice of any criminal charges against the PPP or any of its directors, officers, or employees related to an employee benefit plan.
