Retirement Plan Services

A pooled employer plan, or PEP, is a single 401k plan that many unrelated employers join. A professional plan provider handles most administration and takes on key fiduciary duties, and the pooled size brings institutional pricing. For small businesses, a PEP is often the most affordable and least time-consuming way to offer a 401k.

More than a dozen states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Virginia, now require many employers to offer a retirement plan or enroll employees in a state-run program. Rules vary by state and employer size, and more states are adding mandates each year. Offering a 401k usually satisfies the requirement.

For 2026, employees can contribute up to $24,500 to a 401k. Employees age 50 and older can add an $8,000 catch-up contribution, and employees ages 60 to 63 can use a higher $11,250 catch-up instead. Employer contributions are on top of these limits, up to an overall cap the IRS sets each year. Limits typically change annually.

An employer match is money an employer adds to an employee’s 401k based on what the employee contributes. It can be dollar-for-dollar or a partial match, such as 50 cents per dollar up to a percentage of pay, and it can follow a vesting schedule, which means employees earn full ownership of the match over time.

Plans typically offer mutual funds, target-date funds, stock and bond funds, and other securities. Through Würk’s retirement plan, participants can also choose a managed account that builds a personalized investment allocation, and they get education and advice from a fiduciary advisor to help them pick the right mix.

Every 401k contribution starts as a payroll deduction, so the connection between the two matters. With Würk, payroll and plan administration share data through a 360 integration, contributions are funded by ACH pull instead of wire, and you skip doing banking due diligence twice. That cuts errors and late deposits.

Würk’s 401k combines a low-cost pooled employer plan, full 3(21) and 3(38) fiduciary protection, and a direct connection to payroll. It’s built for compliance-centric businesses in industries like cannabis, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, and alcoholic beverage, where finding a provider that understands your business can be harder.