Mercer’s two pooled plans have exceeded $3.5 billion in U.S. plan assets, Mercer announced in a news release Aug. 22.
The two pooled plans are the Mercer Wise Pooled Employer Plan, which launched in 2022, and its older cousin Mercer Wise 401(k), which launched in 2017.
The Mercer Wise PEP is a traditional pooled employer plan, which allows employers in unrelated businesses to combine their individual retirement plans into a single pooled plan to lower their costs through economies of scale. These plans started coming online in 2021, thanks to the SECURE Act, which green-lighted their creation.
The older Mercer Wise 401(k) is a similar but different type of pooled arrangement. It’s what’s known as a “group of plans.” Unlike the Mercer Wise PEP, the assets of participating plans in the Mercer Wise 401(k) are not commingled, giving employers a greater level of control over their plans.
Mercer declined to disclose how much in assets each of the two pooled plans has accumulated.
The two pooled plans have attracted 80 U.S.-based employers, spanning a range of industries, and provide 401(k) benefits to more than 70,000 employees in the U.S., Mercer said in the news release.
Pooled employer plans, such as the Mercer Wise PEP, were created to entice more employers to offer 401(k) plans through anticipated lower costs, reduced administrative work and lower fiduciary risk.
“Pooled employer plans provide a real opportunity to build retirement security for millions of Americans that have historically not had access to an employer-sponsored plan,” said Holly Verdeyen, Mercer’s U.S. defined contribution leader, in the news release.
