A Multiple Employer Plan, or MEP, is a type of retirement plan that allows two or more unrelated businesses to join together in offering a shared retirement savings plan to their employees. It’s designed to make it easier and more cost-effective for small and midsize businesses to provide retirement benefits—especially if they don’t have the time or resources to manage a plan on their own. By joining a larger group, employers can often benefit from lower fees, simplified administration, and less paperwork. Each participating employer has their own employees covered under the plan, but the overall structure is managed by a central organization or provider. MEPs can offer many of the same features as traditional 401k plans, including employee contributions, employer matches, and investment options. Some MEPs are “open,” meaning any business can join, while others are “closed” and limited to businesses within the same industry or association.