Product & Services Launches

OneDigital, Ascensus Partner to Launch 2 PEPs

Insurance brokerage and financial services firm OneDigital and financial technology and services platform Ascensus LLC formed two new pooled employer plans, including Ascensus’ first 403(b) PEP.

The Path Forward 401(k) PEP and the Path Forward 403(b) PEP will be distributed nationally through the OneDigital adviser network. OneDigital will serve as the 3(38) investment fiduciary for both programs, and Ascensus will provide pooled plan provider services; 3(16) administrative fiduciary services; trust and custody services; and recordkeeping.

Together, Ascensus and OneDigital support more than 1,000 retirement plans with more than $5 billion in total assets.

Vanguard Rolls Out ETF Suite

Vanguard launched Vanguard Target Maturity Corporate Bond ETFs, a lineup of 10 index-based exchange-traded funds designed to help investors build fixed-income portfolios.

The new ETF suite enables targeted fixed-income maturity exposures. When combined, the target maturity ETFs provide an alternative to bond ladders and separately managed accounts for select investors.

Each ETF in the suite has an expense ratio of 0.08%. The funds are expected to help investors manage interest-rate risk and credit risk while assisting portfolio construction across maturity horizons.

The target maturity ETFs are managed by Vanguard Capital Management’s fixed-income group global bond indexing team, which oversees a range of established bond ETFs. Joshua Barrickman and Jake Riley serve as the portfolio managers responsible for day-to-day management of the funds.

WEX Launches HRA to Manage Rising Health Care Costs

WEX Inc., a provider of payment and workflow solutions, announced the launch of a health reimbursement arrangement to help employers manage the cost increases of glucagon-like peptide-1 medications, widely known as GLP-1s.

The solution provides organizations the ability to include GLP-1 coverage in a defined contribution HRA.

According to the announcement, the solution is expected to help protect the organization’s core medical plan from unpredictable utilization and premium inflation and provides employers with the ability to customize funding and reimbursement rules.

The WEX GLP-1 HRA is available now for employers, partners, brokers and consultants.
  

MedImpact Forms New GLP-1 Solutions Suite

MedImpact, an independent pharmacy benefits and health solutions company, announced the launch of two solutions designed to help plan sponsors manage costs of glucagon-like peptide-1 medications, widely known as GLP-1s: GLP-1 Benefit 360 and GLP-1 Direct Fund.

GLP-1 Benefit 360 integrates MedImpact’s MedEmpower Fuel mobile app and GLP-1 Healthy Weight program to pair members with a specially trained registered dietitian. Both plan and member costs are capped. All claims are integrated within the pharmacy benefit manager, offering a coordinated alternative to cash-pay or compounded products.

For member access outside of a traditional covered benefit, the GLP-1 Direct Fund allows plans to contribute a set dollar amount toward direct-to-consumer pricing options for patients.