Mountain West PEP Story
Mike Monroe is the founder of Mountain West 401(k).
Mike graduated from Gonzaga University with a finance and accounting degree and for the first 20 years of his professional career served in fiduciary roles as a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA’) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) for many employers in the Pacific Northwest.
During this formative time in his professional career, Mike learned very early that attracting and retaining quality staff was tantamount to an employer’s success.
Mike had the responsibility of developing salary and benefits programs with the objective of creating a differentiated compensation package.
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Figuring out how to pay competitive salaries and procure good health insurance was much easier and more straightforward than selecting a 401(k) retirement program.
It was annoying and time-consuming to evaluate, set- up, and administer a 401(k) employee program. The 401(k) product solutions and providers weren’t transparent, and the buying experience simply didn’t meet the needs of a small or medium-sized employer.
This was simply not OK as Mike felt that a high-quality 401(k) employee benefit was critical for the employers and employees he served.
Mike set out to change this paradigm by leveraging the collective buying power of many employers to offer a high-value, administratively simple, and affordable 401(k) program.
Mike leveraged his previous experience running employee benefits and insurance operations and launched the Mountain West 401(k) Pooled employer plan (“PEP”) in 2022. His vision was clear– provide a high-value retirement program with C-suite service support to employers.