NAIA Launches Multiple Employer Plan for Colleges

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 10 -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics issued the following news:

In an effort to expand support of its member institutions beyond athletics, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) recently announced it has formed the first national Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) for higher education institutions. The MEP is a retirement plan which serves multiple institutions that typically have a common interest, but are not commonly owned.

The MEP allows schools to maximize purchasing power by participating in a joint retirement plan with other institutions. The cost of the plan and administrative duties are shared among the schools, reducing expenses and increasing efficiency for members.

The NAIA is partnering with Two West Advisors as the 3(38) investment manager, TIAA as record keeper, and Jackson Lewis as ERISA counsel. The MEP is open to all NAIA members.

"The MEP represents a significant step for the NAIA in supporting the overall health of our member institutions," said Jim Carr, NAIA president and CEO. "Our main focus has and will continue to be athletics, but we're excited to leverage the association's infrastructure to in a new way that can be advantageous for our members."

The NAIA will serve as sponsor and main fiduciary and the MEP Board of Trustees will handle day-to-day responsibilities, including vendor selection and plan monitoring. Because the fiduciary role will be handled by the association, individual institutions will spend less time on administrative duties related to the plan.

This document was posted showing the date: Nov. 9, 2017.