Adding 1099 contractors to plan

[Bird]

We just set up a plan for a real estate agency, covering staff.  Now the owner asks if we can include 1099 agents.  My initial reaction was no, but then I thought "why not" if we just add them as participating employers.  We'd create our own little MEP.  Testing is separate for each employer.  Not a problem (?) if some sign on and some don't, right?  Am I missing anything obvious that makes this not work?

[ETA Consulting LLC]

You're thinking about it correctly.  It would be a MEP.  The only point of contention I could think of if the shared accountability when one of the individuals do not 'play nice'.  But, that's business as usual when dealing with MEPs.

Good Luck!

[MSN]

Would the independent agents want to participate in the MEP when they could easily find a low cost Solo(k) offering on their own, without any of the constraints of the agency?  Might be a lot of work for no utilization.

[Bird]

Thanks for the replies.  Agreed that this might be a lot of wheel-spinning when they could just do SEPs or solo K's.