In an effort to assist Oklahoma small business owners and their employees with access to a robust and cost-effective retirement savings vehicle, Oklahoma Retail Merchants Association (ORMA) and affiliated entities, are pleased to announce the rollout of a Multiple Employer 401k Retirement Plan (MEP) for its members. ORMA has partnered with the Alliance of State Retail Associations (ASRA) to offer their multistate MEP 401k. ASRA is a non-profit advocacy group which administers the MEP for many state retail associations. Currently, ASRA affiliate states are ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, PA, MD, IN, IL, IN, CO, and now OK.

In Oklahoma, ORMA represents all types of retail businesses, which account for more than 50,000 employers and over 500,000 employees in the state of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, many of these small businesses are not equipped to offer a 401k plan for their employees. Major reasons include, the complexities of setting up a plan, regulations once established, liability of non-compliance, as well as costs associated. ORMA believes by leveraging the power of a MEP 401k, Oklahoma employers and employees will be able to access these tremendous benefits in their quest for a comfortable retirement.

The passage of the SECURE ACT has paved the way for the expansion of Multiple Employer Plans due to their ability to leverage economies of scale. By banding together many small to mid-sized businesses this structure can lower aggregate costs across the entire group. Additionally, a MEP structure provides centralized governance, administration, and regulatory oversight so these entities can focus on what’s most important, their business.

The structure of the ORMA MEP 401k offering is of a “Closed MEP” which is only available to retail oriented businesses. This homogeneous composition affords the plan single plan status in the eyes of the IRS and DOL and is a tremendous advantage as we can decrease the duplication of efforts and requirements of an open MEP structure or an individual plan, while retaining all the plan design flexibility for each participating employer. Administratively the MEP files a single IRS Form 5500, single ERISA Audit, single ERISA Bond, Fiduciary Liability Policy, single record-keeper, third party administrator, and all the administration and regulatory oversight is handled by the designated fiduciaries of the plan. This allows an employer to gain all the benefits of offering a retirement plan without the complexities and liability that often accompany such a benefit.

The recordkeeper for the MEP 401k is Lincoln Financial Group, a fortune 200 company and one of the largest retirement plan providers in the nation. The distribution of this solution is open to financial advisers who are properly licensed in the state of Oklahoma.

We feel that advisers play a critical role helping employer and employees understand the value of investing for their future and by leveraging their H knowledge and expertise, we can help these individuals cross the finish-line strong.

Those interested in learning more, employers and financial advisers, please send us an email to kiley@oklahomaretail.org for more information.