A clearer route to retirement confidencence
Supported by Marsh's global capabilities, Marsh BrightPath PEP and Marsh BrightPath Group of Plans help employers simplify retirement plan management through institutional scale, investment expertise, professional governance, and support in managing fiduciary risk, all designed to help improve retirement outcomes for their people.
How Marsh BrightPath works
Bring your 401(k) into one professionally managed pooled plan
Marsh BrightPath PEP is a type of 401(k) plan that allows multiple, unrelated employers to participate in a single pooled plan, with Marsh serving as the named fiduciary. By shifting much of the day-to-day plan oversight and administrative responsibility to Marsh, employers aim to reduce the complexity and burden of retirement plan management.
Participating employers join a single pooled employer plan with Empower as the recordkeeper and Marsh as the pooled plan provider (PPP). As the PPP, Marsh oversees the plan operations, helps ensure regulatory compliance, and manages service providers on behalf of participating employers.
This structure helps employers streamline governance, reduce administrative demands, and gain access to institutional investment capabilities.
-
Reduce the administrative workload associated with operating a 401(k) plan
-
Help manage fiduciary risk
-
Access institutional investment strategies and professional manager oversight
-
Leverage economies of scale to maximize cost efficiencies
-
Simplify plan governance and reduce individual audit requirements
-
Strengthen the participant experience with education and retirement readiness tools
A simpler path to managing your retirement plan, with more support
Marsh BrightPath Group of Plans offers many of the same core benefits as Marsh BrightPath PEP, but in a single plan structure. Organizations maintain continuity with their plan, while delegating ERISA 3(16) administrative and 3(38) investment management services to Marsh as a 402(a) named fiduciary.
-
Maintain their existing 401(k) plan
-
Reduce the volume of administration handled internally
-
Delegate fiduciary responsibility for investments and administration
-
Retain important plan design choices while simplifying implementation and oversight
-
Access institutional investment options and manager research
-
Strengthen the participant experience with education and retirement readiness tools
What Marsh BrightPath aims to do for employers
Frequently asked questions
In the US, Marsh collaborates with the following service providers:
- Recordkeeper: Empower
- Auditor: CLA (Clifton Larsen Allen)
- Trustee: Marsh Trust Company
- Investment managers: State Street, BlackRock, Invesco, and many more within the Marsh multiple-manager funds
- Managed account provider: Morningstar
With a pooled employer plan (PEP), participating employers join a single pooled employer plan.
With a group of plans, your organization continues to maintain its own individual retirement plan while delegating significant administrative and investment-management responsibilities.
Both are designed to reduce the burden on internal teams and provide access to Marsh BrightPath's investment, governance and participant-support capabilities.
No. Marsh BrightPath is designed to shift significant fiduciary responsibilities to Marsh, but employers retain certain obligations.
Under the existing model, these include prudently selecting and monitoring the pooled plan provider (PPP) and providing accurate and timely payroll and contribution information.
Employers may benefit from a substantial reduction in the specialized fiduciary and administrative work typically required of them.
Talk to a retirement specialist
Whether you are looking at your organization’s retirement arrangements in one market or reviewing plans across several, Marsh can help you understand the options available and how Marsh BrightPath could support your plans.
Learn more about the retirement solutions available in your market.