Multiple Employer Trust (MET)

A Multiple Employer Trust (MET)is a type of employee benefit plan that allows multiple employers to participate in a single trust. The trust then provides benefits to employees of the participating employers. METs are usually established by industry groups or trade associations to provide a benefit plan to their members who are typically small employers that would not be able to establish their own benefit plan due to cost or administrative complexity.

 

Here are some key features ofMultiple Employer Trust (MET):

 

- Participation: METs require the participation of multiple employers who are members of a particular industry or trade association.

- Plan Design: The plan design of a MET is usually predetermined by the industry group or trade association, and the participating employers have little or no say in how the plan is structured.

- Cost Savings: By pooling resources, participating employers can benefit from economies of scale, which can lead to lower administrative costs and better rates for insurance coverage.

- Fiduciary Responsibility: The trustee of a MET has fiduciary responsibility to all participating must act in the best interest of all plan participants.

- Compliance: Like any other employee benefit plan, METs are subject to compliance requirements under federal law, such as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Next Up

According to Mployer Insights’ 2026 analysis of 76,000+ employer benefit plans, basic group life insurance achieves near-universal participation with an 83% employer offer rate and a 97% employee enrollment rate, driven by the fact that 96% of basic plans are noncontributory (100% employer-paid). While 47% of employers structure life insurance as a variable multiple of earnings—with 1x salary serving as the dominant national standard (62% of multiple-based plans)—flat-dollar benefit options vary widely from $8,500 (10th percentile) to $48,793 (90th percentile). Additionally, 92% of employers offer employee-paid voluntary life insurance to allow workers to bridge the gap toward the recommended 10–12x salary coverage target.
According to Mployer Insights’ 2026 analysis of 76,000+ employer benefit plans, disability insurance remains a major market differentiator, with only 41% of U.S. employers offering short-term disability (STD) and 38% offering long-term disability (LTD). While 60% salary replacement serves as the national standard across both benefit types, standard plan designs disproportionately expose higher earners due to median benefit caps of $1,602/week for STD and $8,273/month for LTD. Furthermore, alignment between STD benefit durations (median 26 weeks) and LTD elimination periods (68% at 90 days) remains a critical area for plan structure optimization.
Welcome to our latest release. We are excited for you to try the new features.