Final PPP Registration Requirements Imminent

Release by the Department of Labor (DOL) of final regulations implementing the registration requirements for Pooled Plan Providers (PPPs) to market Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) could come any day now.

According to the White House’s Office of Management Budget website, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs concluded its review of the final rule on Nov. 9 and sent it back to DOL for release. 

The DOL published a proposed rule on Sept. 1 and sent it to OMB on Oct. 23 for review, following a 30-day comment period. 

Under the SECURE Act enacted in December 2019, the new PEPs operated by a PPP will allow multiple unrelated employers to participate without the need for any commonality among the participating employers or other genuine organizational relationship unrelated to participation in the plan, thus enabling a type of open MEP. 

The newly permitted PPPs can begin offering PEPs on Jan. 1, 2021, but such entities must register with the DOL before beginning operations.

The legislation also requires, among other things, that the PPP be a named fiduciary of the PEP and must be responsible as the plan administrator. 

It’s not clear yet whether any changes were made to the final registration requirements, but the proposed rule sought to establish a new Form PR for PPPs to register. In general, it called for:  

• an initial registration filing and supplemental filings to report changes in the initial filing; 
• information about each specific PEP before initiation of operations; and 
• information on specified reportable events—all of which includes time-sensitive knowledge that is important for the DOL, Treasury Department and IRS to carry out oversight and for participating employers to be able to exercise their fiduciary duties of selection and monitoring. 

The proposed rule also requires a final filing once the last PEP has been terminated and ceased operations.

The American Retirement Association submitted a comment letter Oct. 1, raising several concerns with the proposed registration requirements, chief among them that the proposal underestimates the time needed to comply with the registration requirements in advance of Jan. 1, 2021, starting date. The ARA also recommended clarifications in response to what specific information should be reported.