Building on the opportunities created by the SECURE Act, Lockton has launched a new Outsourced Administrative Responsibilities (OAR) practice that will make Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) the first order of business.
With PEPs set to become effective Jan. 1, 2021, the OAR practice co-founded by advisors Tom Clark, JD, and Mike Duckett plans to launch a series of PEPs initially in the northeast and then nationally over the next several months, according to the firm’s announcement.
“OAR was specifically designed to leverage the marketplace inflection point the SECURE Act created. That’s why we’re designing multiple PEP solutions,” explains Pam Popp, President of Lockton Retirement Services. “It’s a very strategic decision to maintain our objectivity and it’s a recognition that clients need more than a one-size-fits-all solution.”
While PEPs are often considered small plan solutions, Lockton notes that it engaged Principal and Transamerica to develop PEPs with flexible designs to allow even the most complex plans and organizational structures to benefit from the SECURE Act.
“Many anticipate that traditional multiple employer plan providers will simply retool old, small market offerings with a ‘PEP’ label,” says Duckett. “Our approach begins with solving for our clients’ business needs. We’re leveraging opportunities created by the SECURE Act to enhance plan design flexibility and increase clients’ ability to outsource administrative complexity.”
In addition to outsourcing, the announcement notes that PEPs allow employers to benefit from scale. According to Clark, this includes not only the scale of the employers’ combined plan assets, but also the scale of the associated advisor’s book of business.
Lockton’s retirement practice advises more than 1,200 clients, representing $70 billion in assets.
