Equitable Launches 401(k) Pooled Employer Plan

Business Wire 30-Jan-2025 9:00 AM

New 401(k) offering is designed to expand access to workplace retirement plans for small and medium-sized businesses and their employees

Equitable, a leading financial services organization and principal franchise of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH), today announced the launch of its pooled employer plan (PEP), Equitable Retirement Access.^SM The new offering is designed to provide small and medium-sized businesses with a scalable and cost-efficient way to offer their employees a workplace retirement plan.

PEPs are defined contribution plans that allow a group of unrelated businesses to pool their employees' retirement funds into a single plan managed by a third-party provider. This helps to reduce administrative tasks, such as compliance and reporting, and provides protection from fiduciary risk. Introduced by the SECURE Act in 2019, PEPs are designed to help close the retirement income gap among U.S. workers who do not have access to retirement plans through their employers. Despite significant strides in availability, industry data shows more than 40% of small businesses still do not offer retirement plans to their employees due to plan costs, administration and the need to manage plan investments.¹

Through Equitable Retirement Access, small and medium-sized businesses will have a scalable and efficient way to provide their employees a high-quality workplace retirement plan. The offering enables employers to enhance plan governance, mitigate risk and reduce administrative burdens. There are also potential cost savings, especially for employers with more than 100 participants.

"Small businesses are an important growth engine for the U.S. economy, creating two-thirds of new jobs in recent decades.² Yet, millions of these employees lack access to workplace retirement savings plans, hindering the ability of small business owners to attract and retain talent," said Jim Kais, Head of Group Retirement at Equitable. "Our new 401(k) PEP offering makes it easier for small business owners to provide an affordable solution to help their employees build a secure financial future, while alleviating the administrative burdens of running a retirement plan."

Most Americans consider it table stakes for employers to offer a retirement savings plan, according to an Equitable-commissioned consumer survey.³ Approximately 80% of Americans agreed that all employers, regardless of size, should provide a retirement plan for their employees. Further, more than eight in 10 of those surveyed indicated they would decline a new job opportunity if it did not include a retirement plan.

Equitable's new 401(k) PEP offering is available through the Equitable Retirement Vision^®platform.⁴ PlanConnect LLC, an affiliate of Equitable, serves as the recordkeeper for Equitable Retirement Access. Pension Plan Specialists will act as the pooled plan provider, third-party administrator and 3(16) administrative fiduciary. SWBC Retirement Plan Services will function as the 3(38) investment fiduciary, and Plan Notice LLC will handle notice delivery services.

Through its Group Retirement business, Equitable partners with school districts, municipalities, not-for-profit entities and small-to-medium-sized businesses to provide tax-deferred investment and retirement solutions, including 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans for their employees. Equitable's Group Retirement business has a nearly five-decade history of providing workplace retirement solutions to more than 1.2 million clients.

About Equitable:

Equitable, a principal franchise of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH), has been one of America's leading financial services providers since 1859. With the mission to help clients secure their financial well-being, Equitable provides advice, protection and retirement strategies to individuals, families and small businesses. Equitable has more than 8,000 employees and Equitable Advisors financial professionals and serves 3 million clients across the country. Please visit equitable.com for more information.

Equitable is the brand name of the retirement and protection subsidiaries of Equitable Holdings, Inc., including Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial) (NY, NY), and Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable America), an AZ stock company with an administrative office in Charlotte, NC, and Equitable Distributors, LLC. Equitable Advisors is the brand name of Equitable Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI and TN). Reference to the 1859 founding refers specifically and exclusively to Equitable Financial.

The Equitable Retirement Access^SM defined contribution program consists of a custodial account offered through Benefit Trust Company, as well as a group fixed annuity contract issued by Equitable Financial. Distributors: Equitable Distributors, LLC and Equitable Network, LLC (Equitable Network Insurance Agency of California, LLC; Equitable Network Insurance Agency of Utah, LLC; Equitable Network of Puerto Rico, Inc.). Equitable Financial and Equitable Distributors, 1345 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10105. SWBC Retirement Plan Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of SWBC, which was established in 1976. Advisory services are offered by SWBC Investment Advisory Services, LLC, d/b/a SWBC Retirement Plan Services, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Pension Plan Specialists, PC, Benefit Trust Company, Plan Notice, LLC, and SWBC are not subsidiaries or affiliates of Equitable Holdings, Inc., Equitable Financial and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice or services. GE-7567358.1 (01/25)

^{_______________________________________ 1} The Pew Charitable Trusts report, July 2024. ² U.S. Chamber of Commerce, April 2023. ³ Equitable consumer finance survey. Respondents included 1,000 U.S. adults (ages 18 and older), with the total survey population representative of U.S. demographic data. The online survey was fielded August 2024. ⁴ Equitable Retirement Vision is an existing mutual fund-based retirement plan platform with a group fixed annuity contract issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company.

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Media: Monique Freeman (212) 314-2010 mediarelations@equitable.com