Voya Financial  is expanding its Multiple Employer Solutions business with new pooled and multiple employer plan capabilities aimed at simplifying workplace retirement administration. The company is adding greater investment flexibility within pooled employer plans while expanding recordkeeping and administrative services for middle and emerging-market employers, reflecting growing demand for retirement solutions that reduce administrative and fiduciary complexity.

Voya Expands Retirement Plan Options as MES Business Nears $200B

Workplace retirement benefits are becoming an increasingly important part of the HR and employee benefits technology landscape, particularly for smaller and mid-sized employers that may lack the internal resources to administer a retirement plan independently.

Voya Financial has announced new capabilities for its Multiple Employer Solutions (MES) business, expanding options for employers, workers, advisors and third-party administrators. The move includes greater flexibility within pooled employer plans (PEPs) and expanded full-service recordkeeping capabilities for multiple employer plans (MEPs) and PEPs.

The expansion comes as Voya’s MES business has nearly doubled over the past two years, growing from approximately $100 billion in assets to nearly $200 billion as of mid-2026, according to the company.

More Employers Turn to Shared Retirement Plans

PEPs, MEPs and similar aggregation arrangements allow multiple employers to participate in a shared retirement plan structure. The model can shift much of the day-to-day administration and certain fiduciary responsibilities to specialized providers.

Under the SECURE Act framework, pooled employer plans were designed to allow unrelated employers to participate in a common defined-contribution retirement plan. A pooled plan provider assumes significant administrative and fiduciary responsibilities, potentially reducing the operational burden for participating employers.

For smaller organizations, this structure can be particularly attractive. Running a standalone retirement plan requires ongoing attention to administration, compliance, service providers and investment oversight. Shared arrangements can create economies of scale, although employers may trade some control over plan design and oversight for that simplified structure.

Voya’s recent growth suggests that demand for these arrangements is increasing. Within its PEP business, the company said employer adoption rose more than 30%, employee participation increased more than 50%, and assets grew by more than 70% year over year as of September 30, 2026. These figures are company-reported performance metrics.

New Investment Flexibility for PEP Sponsors

One of the most significant changes will begin next month, when Voya plans to make multiple investment lineups and fiduciaries available within a PEP.

The capability is intended to give plan sponsors and intermediaries greater flexibility in how investments are managed. For financial advisors, the structure could allow them to retain an investment-management role and maintain the approach that differentiates their advisory practice.

That flexibility addresses one of the broader challenges in shared retirement arrangements. Employers want the administrative efficiency of aggregation, but advisors and sponsors may also want to preserve investment choices and relationships that are important to their businesses.

The new approach attempts to combine those priorities: centralized administration and shared plan infrastructure alongside greater flexibility around investment management.

Expanding Services for Mid-Market Employers

Voya is also expanding its full-service MEP and PEP recordkeeping offerings into the middle and emerging markets.

The expanded service model includes administrative capabilities such as plan document services and compliance testing. These services can be particularly valuable for organizations that do not have large internal benefits or retirement administration teams.

The company said its planned enhancements will support two different operating models: sponsors that work with third-party administrators and organizations that prefer a more comprehensive service arrangement through Voya.

This distinction matters as retirement technology becomes increasingly modular. Some employers want a single provider to manage a larger share of plan operations, while others prefer to maintain relationships with outside administrators, advisors and investment specialists.

Retirement Benefits Become an HR Technology Priority

Although retirement plans have traditionally been viewed primarily as financial services products, their administration increasingly intersects with HR technology.

Employers need systems that can manage employee eligibility, contributions, payroll integration, enrollment, compliance and communications. For smaller businesses, fragmented processes can make offering retirement benefits more difficult.

Shared retirement plans provide one way to consolidate some of those responsibilities. The Department of Labor notes that pooled plan providers perform significant administrative and fiduciary functions for PEPs, while participating employers benefit from a shared plan structure. Department of Labor

That does not remove every responsibility from employers. Plan sponsors still need to understand their role, evaluate providers and determine whether a particular arrangement meets the needs of their workforce.

For HR leaders, the growing availability of PEPs and MEPs could broaden access to workplace retirement programs without requiring every organization to build a standalone benefits infrastructure.

A Growing Market for Aggregated Benefits

Voya’s expansion reflects a wider trend toward aggregation in employee benefits. Employers are increasingly looking for platforms and service models that can reduce administrative complexity while preserving enough flexibility to meet different workforce needs.

The SEC has also recently highlighted PEPs as a structure that can help smaller businesses provide access to retirement savings while reducing certain costs, administrative burdens and potential liabilities associated with sponsoring plans independently. SEC

Voya’s nearly $200 billion MES business gives the company significant scale in this segment. Its latest capabilities suggest that the next phase of competition may focus not only on simplifying retirement administration but also on giving employers and advisors more flexibility within shared-plan structures.

For employers, the central question will be whether these models can deliver the right balance between administrative efficiency, investment choice and employee retirement outcomes.

As workplace benefits become more connected to broader HR and payroll technology ecosystems, PEPs and MEPs are likely to remain an important option for organizations seeking to expand retirement access without assuming the full operational burden of running a standalone plan.

Market Landscape

The multiple employer retirement market is evolving around several major trends:

• Simplified retirement administration: PEPs and MEPs can shift substantial administrative responsibilities to specialized providers.
• Small-business retirement access: Shared plans are designed to make workplace retirement programs more accessible to employers with limited internal resources.
• Investment flexibility: Providers are increasingly looking for ways to combine pooled-plan efficiency with advisor and sponsor choice.
• Benefits technology integration: Retirement administration increasingly connects with HR, payroll, employee enrollment and workforce benefits platforms.
• Growing provider competition: Scale, recordkeeping capabilities, fiduciary services and administrative flexibility are becoming key differentiators.

Top Insights

• MES growth: Voya’s Multiple Employer Solutions business nearly doubled to almost $200 billion in assets over the past two years.
• PEP momentum: Voya reported more than 30% growth in employer adoption and over 50% growth in employee participation in its PEP business.
• Greater flexibility: Multiple investment lineups and fiduciaries within a PEP are intended to give sponsors and advisors more choice.
• Expanded administration: Voya is adding services including plan documents and compliance testing for MEP and PEP customers.
• HR benefits evolution: Shared retirement plans are becoming an important tool for expanding workplace retirement access while reducing administrative complexity.

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