The Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities is pleased to announce that its members can now offer improved, competitive retirement benefits through an AIKCU-sponsored multiple employer plan. After several years in the works, the AIKCU MEP officially formed June 1 with a first round of four member colleges. 

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“This multiple employer plan is the latest effort in AIKCU’s history of helping Kentucky’s independent colleges and universities collaborate to develop efficiencies and cost savings, so they can focus time and resources on their mission of providing high-quality education for students,” AIKCU President Mason Dyer said.

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“I’m grateful for the excellent work by Krista Hudson on our staff, our partners, and especially the campus leaders who have brought the AIKCU MEP to fruition.”

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MEPs allow employers to band together to take advantage of scale and efficiencies they cannot achieve on their own.

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AIKCU explored offering a MEP in 2018 but reinvigorated those efforts this year in response to renewed member interest. It anticipates that the AIKCU MEP retirement plan will be fully operational in late 2024.

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“We’re excited that the AIKCU MEP will allow our members to provide enhanced retirement plans for their new and existing employees,” said Krista Hudson, AIKCU’s vice president of finance and administration. “At the same time, our members — as employers — will benefit from potential cost savings, less burdensome administration, and streamlined operations.”

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Plan Providers & Governing Board

The AIKCU MEP is administered by four highly regarded plan providers, which offer the resources, tools, and services that plan sponsors need. PlanPILOT is the 3(38) investment fiduciary, Millennium is the registered investment adviser, Pentegra is the 3(16) administrative fiduciary, and TIAA is the plan recordkeeper.

 

The four plan providers work closely with the newly formed AIKCU MEP governing board, which is composed of chief financial and human resources officers from the participating colleges and universities.

How EMPLOYERS Benefit:

• Centralized administrative and fiduciary support.

• Delegated investment selection and monitoring.

• Better financial outcomes for employees.

• Enhanced benefits at potentially lower costs.

How EMPLOYEES Benefit:

• Robust retirement plan options, giving employees more choices for responsible saving.

• Financial consulting support and resources to help with retirement readiness.

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What is a Multiple Employee Plan?

In The Rise of Multiple employer plans, a blog post on PlanPILOT’s website, a MEP is described as a single plan adopted as a group arrangement, which allows two or more unrelated employers to participate. The assets are aggregated in one plan, with a shared plan administrator or recordkeeper and common investment fund menu. The article explains that a MEP uses economies of scale so that employers can offer employees a retirement plan for lower costs than a stand-alone 401(k) or 403(b) plan, while providing more appealing benefits to attract and retain employees.

 

Hudson said that with the first group of MEP joiners well underway, AIKCU and plan providers are starting discussions with the next round of AIKCU member adopters.

For more information, contact Krista Hudson, AIKCU vice president of finance and administration, at krista.hudson@aikcu.org.