401(k) workplace retirement plan

Simplify Retirement Plans for Your Clients with our Pooled Employer Plan

Introducing Equitable Retirement AccessSM

Equitable Retirement Access is a 401(k) retirement plan for small businesses that reduces fiduciary and administrative burdens, and provides opportunities for both employers and plan participants.
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We put all the pieces together, so you don’t have to.

Our Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) provides companies with a fully integrated way to deliver retirement benefits to their employees. Equitable Retirement Accesssm is a 401(k) solution that reduces management responsibilities and risk while streamlining and delegating plan administration to the experts – allowing employers to focus on more strategic priorities.

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What is a PEP?

A 401(k) Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) provides small businesses with retirement plan options by enabling multiple, diverse employers to participate in a single, unified retirement plan. It is managed by a Pooled Plan Provider (PPP), who serves as the 401(k) plan sponsor and holds ultimate fiduciary responsibility for the governance and administration of the PEP.  

Wondering which type of retirement plan may be the best fit for your small business client?

Review our comparison chart to understand the key differences between traditional 401(k) plans, Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs), and Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs).

Why your clients should join a PEP

40% of small-business employers don’t offer retirement benefits due to plan costs, administration, and the need to manage plan investments.1

Small businesses are generally concerned with three things when it comes to sponsoring a retirement plan: cost, fiduciary risk, and administrative burden. Equitable Retirement Accesssm 401(k) retirement plan for small business removes those barriers, bringing high quality, cost-effective retirement plan benefits to your clients.

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Benefits for employers

  • Economies of scale – Through the bundling of services and merging of multiple employers in a single plan, costs are significantly reduced.
  • Reduction in fiduciary responsibilities – Professional fiduciaries are assigned to oversee plan governance, compliance testing, investments, and more.
  • Administrative Ease - Business operations are streamlined by outsourcing the majority of retirement plan administration. 
  • Simplified Payroll - Our solution includes a concierge service that streamlines the employers payroll management tasks.
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Benefits for employees

  • Dynamic, easy-to-use participant website
  • Full suite of participant educational materials
  • In-person & virtual enrollment and financial wellness seminars

Why choose Equitable Retirement Accesssm

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Professional management

You don’t have to be a retirement plan expert to offer your clients the best. With Equitable Retirement Accesssm, you get peace of mind knowing that professionals are servicing your clients, with pre-selected 3(38), 3(16), and 402(a) fiduciaries on the plan.

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Simplified payroll

Our solution includes a concierge service that streamlines the employers payroll management tasks. Pension Plan Specialists (PPS), experienced payroll managers, will scrub payroll files for accuracy, upload them to the recordkeeper, and update the payroll provider with new data (participant deferrals, enrollments, loan payments, etc.) every payroll period. This eliminates another labor-intensive task usually left to small businesses.

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Efficiency and scalability

Save time and manage multiple small business 401(k) retirement plans efficiently with our pooled employee plan. Think of it as an “EZ button” for retirement plans, featuring one fund lineup, one TPA, one plan design, and built-in fiduciaries. The Pooled Plan Provider (PPP) takes on most of the fiduciary responsibility, allowing you to focus on growing your business and serving your small business clients.

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Strength and stability

Throughout our over 160-year history, we have helped clients prosper and persevere through all types of economic conditions, providing protection, guidance and strategies — all with the expectation of perpetual capital strength and stability. We are pioneers in innovation, experts in retirement strategies and one of America’s leading financial services companies in risk management.

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Selling upmarket

Equitable Retirement Accesssm is particularly beneficial for companies with 100 or more employees, especially those looking to avoid the high costs associated with retirement plan audits. We cover the cost of annual plan audits and collect the necessary data throughout the year, significantly lowering expenses and administrative hassle.

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Dedicated experts to manage your plan

Equitable Retirement Accesssm brings together a team of seasoned professional service firms that will assume almost all fiduciary responsibility on behalf of small business employers. The following leading service providers power our 401(k) PEP:

  • Recordkeeper: Equitable
  • PPP, 3(16) and TPA: Pension Plan Specialists
  • 3(38) Fiduciary: SWBC
  • Custodian and Trustee: Benefit Trust Company
  • Plan Notice Delivery Manager: Plan Notice, LLC

Ready to help your small business clients secure their financial futures?

Partner with Equitable, a name synonymous with trust and excellence for over 160 years. Simply complete the following form and we will instantly send you a proposal – including pricing.

Have questions about 401(k) retirement plan solutions?
Contact us today!

Workplace Retirement Plan Sales Desk

(866) 401-3030

Select option 7

Monday - Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET
Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET

For financial professionals only. If you are an individual investor, please contact your financial professional for more information.

Need help with a Group Retirement Annuity product such as 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) plan or Equi-Vest account?

Call (800) 628-6673

1Pewtrusts.org. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2024/07/small-employers-economics-of-offering-retirement-savings-plans.

For Financial Professional Use Only.

The Equitable Retirement Accesssm defined contribution program consists of a custodial account offered through Benefit Trust Company, within which plan participants’ chosen mutual fund shares are held, as well as a group fixed annuity contract (generic form number 2016FA-MFrev, 2016FA-MF403b) issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial). The Equitable Retirement AccessSM defined contribution program is distributed by Equitable Distributors, LLC (Equitable Distributors) and Equitable Network, LLC (Equitable Network Insurance Agency of California, LLC in CA; Equitable Network Insurance Agency of Utah, LLC in UT; Equitable Network of Puerto Rico, Inc. in PR). Equitable Financial and Equitable Distributors are located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10104, (212) 314-4600. Equitable Network, LLC is located at 8501 IBM Drive, Suite 150, Charlotte, NC 28262. Equitable Financial is solely responsible for meeting the obligations of the group fixed annuity contract.

Equitable Financial and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice or services. Pension Plan Specialists, PC, Benefit Trust Company serves as custodian of mutual funds selected by plan participants. Pension Plan Specialists, PC acts as the pooled plan provider and plan sponsor, 3(16) plan administrator, named fiduciary, and entity responsible for performing all administrative duties. 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.

Products funding workplace retirement plans are issued by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial) NY, NY.

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); Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (Equitable America), an AZ stock company; and Equitable Distributors, LLC. The obligations of Equitable Financial and Equitable America are backed solely by their claims-paying abilities.

GE-7371009.1 (11/2024) (Exp. 11/2028)