Schedule MEP: Form 5500 Filing Guide for Multiple-Employer
Retirement Plans

Everything a multiple-employer or pooled employer retirement plan needs to know about Schedule MEP, what it reports,
which parts apply to your plan type, and how it attaches to your Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF filing.

By Charles Hardy | Last Updated: Sep 28, 2026

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Types of Multiple-Employer Plans Reported on Schedule MEP

Schedule MEP covers several types of multiple-employer pension plans. Each structure allows multiple employers to participate in a retirement plan while differing in who sponsors the plan and how the arrangement is organized.

  • 1

    Association Retirement Plan

    An Association Retirement Plan (ARP) is a defined contribution retirement plan sponsored by a bona fide group or association of employers rather than by one employer alone.

    How it works:

    The association acts as the plan sponsor, allowing participating businesses to join a shared retirement plan through an established trade, industry, or professional association.

    Key characteristics:

    • Sponsored by a qualifying bona fide group or association.
    • The association must have a genuine organizational purpose beyond providing retirement benefits.
    • Participating employers must have an appropriate role in controlling the plan.
    • Provides a way for smaller, unrelated employers to participate in a shared retirement arrangement.
  • 2

    PEO Plan

    A PEO Plan is a defined contribution multiple-employer retirement plan sponsored by a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) for its client employers.

    How it works:

    A PEO already provides services such as HR, payroll, and employee administration to multiple client businesses. A qualifying PEO can also sponsor a retirement plan that allows those client employers to provide retirement benefits through the PEO.

    Key characteristics:

    • Sponsored by a qualifying professional employer organization.
    • Covers employees of the PEO's client employers.
    • The PEO must meet specific requirements governing its relationship with participating employers and their employees.
    • Simply providing payroll or administrative services does not by itself make an arrangement a PEO Plan.
  • 3

    Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)

    A Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) is a defined contribution multiple-employer plan that allows unrelated employers to participate in one retirement plan without needing the common organizational relationship required for an association retirement plan.

    How it works:

    A pooled plan provider operates the plan and takes on specified administrative and fiduciary responsibilities, allowing participating employers to join a professionally managed retirement arrangement.

    Key characteristics:

    • Designed for employers that may have no common industry or organizational connection.
    • Operated by a pooled plan provider.
    • Must meet the requirements of ERISA §3(43).
    • The pooled plan provider must satisfy applicable Form PR registration requirements.
    • PEPs have additional reporting requirements on Part III of Schedule MEP.
  • 4

    Other Multiple-Employer Pension Plan

    Other Multiple-Employer Pension Plan is the category for a multiple-employer pension plan that does not qualify as an Association Retirement Plan, PEO Plan, or Pooled Employer Plan.

    How it works:

    This category serves as the catch-all for other qualifying MEP structures. It can include defined benefit multiple-employer plans and certain defined contribution MEPs that are not organized as an association, PEO, or pooled employer arrangement.

    Key characteristics:

    • Covers MEPs that do not fall into the other three categories.
    • Can include certain defined benefit MEPs.
    • Can also include certain defined contribution MEPs.
    • Participating employers are reported through Part II of Schedule MEP.

Frequently Asked Questions About Schedule MEP

Schedule MEP is used to report information about a multiple-employer pension plan. It provides details about the plan type, participating employers, contributions, account balances, and other information required by the Department of Labor.

Schedule MEP must generally be attached to the applicable Form 5500 filing for a pension plan that is identified as a multiple-employer plan. The schedule provides information about the plan and its participating employers.

Multiple-employer welfare plans do not file Schedule MEP. Their participating employer information is reported through an attachment as required by the Form 5500 instructions.

A multiple-employer retirement plan is a retirement plan maintained by two or more employers. The employers participate in the same plan but are not necessarily related to one another.

Schedule MEP is used to report information about the participating employers and the plan arrangement.

Schedule MEP identifies four types of multiple-employer pension plans:

  • Association Retirement Plan (ARP)
  • Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Plan
  • Pooled Employer Plan (PEP)
  • Other Multiple-Employer Pension Plan

The applicable plan type is selected in Part I of Schedule MEP.

No. Schedule MEP is for multiple-employer pension plans. A multiple-employer welfare plan does not use Schedule MEP to report participating employers. Instead, the required information is provided through an attachment to Form 5500.

Schedule MEP generally requires information such as each participating employer's name, EIN, estimated percentage of total contributions, and, when applicable, aggregate account balances.

Additional information is required when the plan includes individuals who are not participating through an employer or individual working owners.

A pooled employer plan (PEP) is a defined contribution retirement plan that allows employees of multiple unrelated employers to participate in one plan. It is operated by a pooled plan provider and must meet the requirements of ERISA section 3(43).

PEPs have additional reporting requirements on Schedule MEP, including Part III.

Yes. Part III is completed only for pooled employer plans.

It asks whether the pooled plan provider complied with the applicable Form PR registration requirements and, when required, requests the Receipt Confirmation Code (ACK ID) from the most recent Form PR.

The Form PR ACK ID is the Receipt Confirmation Code associated with the pooled plan provider's most recent required Form PR filing.

For a PEP, the ACK ID is reported in Part III when applicable. Entering an invalid or missing ACK ID when one is required can result in the Form 5500 filing being rejected as incomplete.

No. Schedule MEP is not a standalone filing. It is attached to and submitted with the applicable Form 5500 filing.

When Schedule MEP is included, the corresponding Schedule MEP box must also be indicated on Form 5500 as required.

Missing or incorrect information can make the filing incomplete or lead to a filing rejection. Before submitting, verify the plan type, participating employer information, EINs, contribution percentages, account balances, and any applicable PEP information.

Also make sure that no Social Security numbers are included on Schedule MEP or its attachments.

A multiple-employer plan is generally maintained by two or more employers that participate in the same retirement plan, while a multiemployer plan is maintained under one or more collective bargaining agreements between employee organizations and more than one employer.

They are different plan arrangements and have different Form 5500 reporting requirements. Schedule MEP applies to multiple-employer pension plans, not multiemployer plans.

Helpful Resources

Schedule MB

Have a multiemployer defined benefit plan instead of a multiple-employer arrangement? Schedule MB is where its funding status gets reported.

Learn More

Schedule SB

Filing for a single-employer or multiple-employer defined benefit plan? Schedule SB covers the actuarial and funding details for that plan type.

Learn More

Form 5500 Filing Guide

Not sure which Form 5500 to file? Compare Form 5500-EZ, Form 5500-SF, and Form 5500 to find the filing that applies to your plan.

Learn More