American Trust Partners with TAG Resources to Launch Pooled Employer Plan

Issued by: American Trust

Date: Mar. 31, 2021

The two retirement industry leaders are partnering to provide a customizable retirement plan option for employers of all sizes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- American Trust, a leading, full-service provider of retirement solutions to small- and mid-sized plan sponsors, has partnered with TAG Resources (“TAG”) to introduce a Pooled Employer Plan (“PEP”), allowing small, unrelated companies to pool their resources and provide a workplace retirement plan benefit to their employees.

Small employers are often harnessed by the administrative costs and fiduciary risks associated with offering a workplace retirement benefit to their employees. The SECURE Act, introduced in late 2019, included a provision outlining the PEP structure as a solution for smaller employers, making way for multiple small employers to come together to gain access to a more competitive plan landscape and increase their purchasing power.

“We work with professionals in all aspects of the retirement industry, including financial advisors, distribution partners, payroll providers and RIAs and we heard a common theme in our discussions with them: they all want to help solve the retirement crisis facing Americans today,” said Micah DiSalvo, Chief Revenue Officer at American Trust. “The American Trust PEP offering is an innovative and important step toward safeguarding the nation’s retirement future. We are proud to be on the forefront of solving this challenge.”

The American Trust PEP offers several distinct benefits, including:

- Increased purchasing power as several smaller employers can pool resources and assets into a single plan.

- Simplified plan administration that offloads 90% of a plan’s administrative duties.

- Potentially reduced plan expenses, including lower administrative fees, filing fees and audit costs.

- Customizable to the employer’s needs and participant goals, including both active and passive investment lineups and plan design features that can be catered to the participant makeup.

- Designed to achieve a decreased fiduciary risk to the employer, American Trust Company acts as the plan Trustee and assumes the role of 3(38) Investment Manager, and AT Retirement Services, LLC, an American Trust affiliate, acts as the Pooled Plan Provider (PPP). TAG performs certain 3(16) responsibilities as the third party administrator.

“The pandemic has cast a light on the immense responsibility offering a workplace retirement benefit holds, and small and large plans alike are seeking opportunities to outsource the associated services,” commented Troy Tisue, President of TAG Resources. “In reality, many plans are not being managed effectively, and it ends up hurting the participant. The American Trust PEP makes a workplace benefit more accessible, comprehensive and – importantly – customizable to best position employees for a strong retirement future.”

American Trust and TAG hold deep expertise in the retirement space. American Trust is a subsidiary of EdgeCo Holdings, which along with its other subsidiaries, administers over 100,0000 retirement plans, while 100% of TAG’s business is in the pooled plan structure. Employers who engage with the American Trust PEP offering will benefit from the expansive in-house expertise that EdgeCo, its affiliates and TAG teams collectively offer.

“We are offering small employers a competitive advantage in the marketplace, backed by the power of the industry that EdgeCo and its subsidiaries embody. The PEP offering allows us to expand our focus to even more businesses, facilitating unmatched access and scale for small businesses wishing to offer a retirement benefit to their employees,” added DiSalvo.

For more information on the American Trust PEP offering, please visit www.americantrust.com. The products and services described herein are subject to all current and future laws, regulations and service terms. This description has been provided for discussion and marketing purposes only and is not intended to be legally binding.

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