Even though Pooled Employer Plans were made effective on January 1, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued final regulations on registration requirements for pooled plan providers (PPP) administering PEPs.
A PPP is required to make an initial registration filing 30 days before 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 as soon as possible.
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 the 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 concerning any employee benefit plan, or involving the mismanagement of plan assets.
A PPP must submit a supplemental filing for each PEP they will run, that includes the name of the PEP and identification information for the primary compliance officer. A supplemental filing is also required within the later of 30 days after the calendar quarter in which the reportable event occurred or 45 days after the event if there is:
- 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.
Once a PPP has stopped operating all of their PEPs, they would have to make a final filing. The deadline for final filings will be the later of 30 days after the calendar quarter in which the final Form 5500 is filed for the last PEP operated by the PPP, or 45 days after that filing.
All PPP registrations must be filed electronically via the DOL’s Form 5500 filing system using the new EBSA Form PR.
For further questions about PEPs and PPPs, contact me
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