Multiple Employer Plan (MEP): All You Need to Know

The cannabis sector is growing by the minute and it’s becoming highly competitive. This means you have to work hard to impress qualified job candidates and retain your current staff. The best way to do this is to offer them attractive remuneration and better benefits than your competitors. MEP 401k plans are now available to professionals working in the cannabis sector.

If you’d like to give your staff the retirement benefits they deserve without having to handle the administrative details yourself, a multi-employer 401k service could be the right choice. Read on to discover more information about MEP retirement plans, learn how to compare them to PEP and other available options, and make the best decision for your business.

What is an MEP retirement plan?

MEP is an abbreviation for Multiple Employer Plan. It’s a retirement savings plan that’s made to support companies in their efforts to provide retirement benefits to employees. This is an especially favorable arrangement for small businesses in high-risk industries because they have to be meticulous about legal compliance and handle red tape with limited resources. 

By definition, this type of plan is adopted by several employers who are otherwise unrelated. Their shared goal is to overcome the administrative hurdles associated with offering retirement benefits. MEP accounts allow employees to save a part of their earnings in a tax-advantaged way.

How do multiple employer plans work?

With an MEP, multiple employers come together to facilitate the procedures related to having a retirement benefit plan. The plan is implemented and maintained by an MEP sponsor. The sponsor handles necessary administrative procedures and usually has fiduciary liability. You can find a trustworthy sponsor by paying close attention to a few important criteria.

One of the most common MEPs is the 401k plan, which can be either open or closed. It takes its name from the section of the Internal Revenue Code. An employee contributes to their 401k account via an automatic payroll system and their employer also makes a matching contribution. The exact contributing amount can be calculated using various formulas. The contributions made by the employee lower their yearly income taxes.

What are the perks of taking part in an MEP?

As a cannabis business owner, you often have to think on your feet to avoid the pitfalls of the industry. Having a solid retirement benefits plan in place means you’ll have fewer problems to think about. Here are some of the perks you can expect:

• Lower expenses
• Fewer administrative trappings
• Transfer of fiduciary liability
• Satisfied employees

If you put experts in charge of your retirement benefits management and payroll duties, you’ll be able to focus all of your attention on your business operations. Minimize the distractions and dedicate your effort to grow your brand instead.

Where can I find a reliable multi-employer 401k service?

Green Leaf Business Solutions provides businesses in the cannabis supply chain with an innovative banking and payroll system. We’re also a dependable 401k plan sponsor, offering clients a streamlined solution that fuses payroll and multi-employer 401k services. We take care of plan administration, monitoring, enrollment, and other associated procedures. Participating in an MEP retirement plan will help you meet legal requirements and fine-tune your business operations. 

Our holistic approach to payroll management and 401k plan administration can ensure your compliance with the law, facilitate data collection, save you time, reduce your expenses, and help with your workload. In addition, these benefits will put you on the radar of skilled prospective employees. Get in touch with us today to unlock the many perks of our comprehensive toolkit.