Vestwell Partners With Commonwealth, FuturePlan to Launch PEP

Vestwell, a savings platform, has continued its relationship with Commonwealth Financial Network, a business solutions provider for financial advisers, to launch a pooled employer plan called the Gateway 401(k) Plan.

The PEP will be available to Commonwealth’s network of affiliated advisers and will include administrative and compliance support from third-party administrator Ascensus’ FuturePlan.

Under their existing partnership, Vestwell provides recordkeeping and third-party administrator services to individual business clients of Commonwealth advisers. The expanded collaboration now includes the launch of the Gateway 401(k) Plan, which Aaron Schumm, Vestwell’s founder and CEO, described as a milestone.

“Commonwealth is a key partner of ours, and we’re excited to offer their advisers the Gateway 401(k) Plan solution,” Schumm said in a statement. “We spent a lot of time collaborating on this PEP solution, so it is exciting to bring this to life with a great partner like Commonwealth to scale their advisers’ businesses while generating more opportunities for everyone to access retirement savings programs.”

Vestwell will serve as the pooled plan provider for the Gateway 401(k) Plan, overseeing recordkeeping, payroll processing and administration, while FuturePlan brings its expertise in compliance, testing and plan design. Commonwealth will also offer investment management services as the 3(38) fiduciary for the plan. The plan includes enhanced fiduciary protection, a benefit typically reserved for large retirement plans.

Mathew Powers, vice president of strategic retirement solutions at Commonwealth, noted the rising demand for streamlined retirement plan solutions.

“We’re seeing increased demand from our affiliated advisers and their clients for retirement plan solutions with streamlined processes that reduce administrative burdens to make workplace retirement saving solutions more accessible,” Powers said in a statement. “Vestwell’s advanced technology ensures our advisers can evolve, scale, and expand their practices while delivering optimal solutions to clients.”