The Standard Touts $2 Billion Milestone in PEP Assets

The Standard has surpassed $2 billion in pooled employer retirement plan assets under administration, it announced this week.

The company entered the PEP market in August 2023 after its acquisition of Securian Financial’s retirement plan recordkeeping business.

“We are honored and excited to surpass the $2 billion milestone for PEP assets,” said Steve Chappell, vice president of distribution in Retirement Plans at The Standard, in a statement. “Our advisers trust our PEP solution to help their clients focus on their most important tasks while providing the fiduciary management and administrative outsourcing they need for their retirement plan.”

Hitting the $2 billion mark comes after The Standard named Mark Christensen as the pooled employer plan sales director in retirement plans for the recordkeeper in December.

In late 2024, Cerulli Associates said the pooled employer plan market  surpassed $10 billion in assets, with more than 24,000 employers participating.

PEPs, established via the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act of 2019 and first allowed in 2021, allow multiple employers to join one plan, ideally resulting in lower costs, fewer administrative tasks and reduced fiduciary burdens for the employers. Now five years after their inception, they have gathered billions of dollars in plan assets, covering hundreds of thousands of workers.

A number of new PEPs were launched in 2024 by retirement plan advisories including the Alera Group, Hub International Ltd. and Strategic Retirement Partners.