PEPs: A Game-Changer for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses

What if you could simplify your 401(k), lower costs, and reduce liability — all at once? Learn how pooled employer plans (PEPs) are transforming retirement benefits.

What Is a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)?

For many small and mid-sized business owners, offering a retirement plan comes with tough questions:

How can I provide a high-quality 401(k) without overwhelming cost, liability, and complexity?

Increasingly, the answer lies in the Pooled Employer Plan (PEP).

Unlike standalone 401(k) plans, where each employer carries full fiduciary and administrative responsibilities, a PEP allows multiple employers to participate in a single, professionally managed plan.

This means fiduciary oversight and compliance obligations are handled by the Pooled Plan Provider (PPP) and its partners, while employers focus only on plan design decisions such as:

Eligibility
Vesting
Matching contributions

Employees still enjoy a competitive 401(k) — often with lower fees and better investment options.

Key Benefits of a PEP

1. Cost Savings

Businesses enjoy reduced costs thanks to pooled scale, which drives down both investment and recordkeeping fees.

2. Reduced Fiduciary Liability

Apex, as the Pooled Plan Provider, assumes most oversight responsibilities — significantly lowering employer risk.

3. Simplified Administration

Payroll integration
Centralized compliance testing
Less workload for internal teams

4. Better Employee Experience

Modern participant portals
Diverse investment options
Transparent communication

Why PEP Adoption Is Growing

Since the SECURE Act of 2019 authorized PEPs, adoption has grown quickly.

The model allows small and mid-sized businesses to offer retirement benefits comparable to those of Fortune 500 companies — but without the same level of overhead.

For employers competing for talent, that’s a major advantage.

Apex Consulting’s PEP Advantage

At Apex Consulting, we’ve built a PEP structure designed for frictionless adoption.

Our model includes:

Ameritas for recordkeeping and TPA services
Schwab as custodian
Apex’s fiduciary experts overseeing investments

We ensure a smooth transition whether you’re launching a new plan or converting an existing one.

The result:

Reduced liability
Lower cost
Stronger participant experience

Why PEPs Are a Smarter Strategy

For growing businesses, a PEP is more than just a retirement plan — it’s a strategic solution to strengthen both financial outcomes and workplace culture.