The topic of pooled employer plans (PEPs) has been in the headlines of PLANADVISER Magazine and PLANADVISER.com since the passage of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act in late 2019. With the formal launch of the PEP marketplace in early 2021, this webinar will offer a chance to take stock of how much progress has been made so far. We will examine which PEPs and pooled plan providers (PPPs) are finding early success, and why they are standing out. And, as always, we will consider what comes next.
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    John Manganaro
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    Susan Rees
    Of counsel, Wagner Law Group
    Susan Rees has over 30 years of extensive experience with ERISA , at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., in the Office of the Solicitor, Plan Benefits Security Division, and in the Employee Benefits Security Administration. She is currently Of Counsel with the Wagner Law Group in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in ERISA Title I matters for clients on fiduciary compliance, cybersecurity, and the development of law and agency guidance on multiple employer plans such as retirement MEPS, and PEPS under the SECURE Act. In her experience at the U.S. Department of Labor, culminating as a Division Chief for the Office of Regulations and Interpretations of EBSA, she provided advice to other components of EBSA, state and federal agencies, the public, and lawmakers and their staff. Throughout the course of her career, Ms. Rees has authored or provided valuable advice in the creation of many ERISA-related regulations, advisory opinions, field assistance bulletins, and other technical legal memoranda on complicated interpretive issues on ERISA preemption and employee benefit plan definitions. She has also been instrumental in providing advice on ERISA-related civil and criminal investigations, penalty proceedings and litigation, including on preparation of amicus briefs and on related federal statutes such as the Internal Revenue Code, FLSA, FMLA, ADEA, and the Administrative Procedures Act.

    Ms. Rees is a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and Deputy Co-chair of an ABA Tax Section group specializing in multiple employer plans, and is frequently asked to speak at bar association and industry group meetings. She earned a J.D. from Suffolk University and B.A. from Boston University, and is licensed to practice law in state and federal courts in Massachusetts, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals in the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 9th, and D.C. Circuits.
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    Tim Werner
    President of Ameritas BlueStar Retirement Services
    Tim has served as President of BlueStar since 2004. BlueStar was acquired by Ameritas on October 1, 2021. BlueStar is an integrated recordkeeper and third party administrator, and while BlueStar serves all varieties of DC plans, BlueStar is a nationally recognized expert in the servicing of MEPs and PEPs. BlueStar is a service-first organization which has built proprietary systems which enable service delivery excellence. Tim’s primary role at BlueStar is to guide the strategic vision for BlueStar, as well as guide BlueStar’s marketing and relationship management efforts. Prior to BlueStar, Tim was a corporate lawyer in private practice in Atlanta, GA. Tim received an A.B. from Duke University and a J.D. from the Vanderbilt University Law School.
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    Erin Turley
    Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
    Erin Turley focuses her practice on employee benefits matters. She has extensive experience handling issues pertaining to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Erin is a member of the Firm-wide Management Committee. With respect to ERISA, Erin focuses on employee benefits, including qualified, nonqualified, and executive and deferred compensation and welfare benefit plans, as well as on regulatory compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). She also advises employers on the design, implementation and administration of tax-qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, and health and welfare benefit plans.