# Individual Company > Individual Company means a member of an affiliated group that has assumed the obligations of a plan concerning its employees by signing an agreement **Term:** Individual Company **Last updated:** 2026-07-29 ## Definition ## What Individual Company Means in a Contract An Individual Company is a defined term used most often in multi-employer or group benefit arrangements, particularly those involving pensions, retirement schemes, or other employee benefit structures. It refers to a specific member of an affiliated corporate group, such as a subsidiary or associated business, that has taken the formal step of assuming the obligations of a broader plan for the benefit of its own workforce. This is not automatic. Membership in a corporate family does not by itself make a subsidiary bound by the plan's terms. The defining act is signing an agreement of participation, sometimes called a joinder agreement or adoption agreement, with both the principal entity that sponsors the plan and the trustee responsible for administering it. Once signed, the Individual Company becomes contractually obligated to fund, administer, or otherwise support the plan with respect to its own employees, even though it may not be the original sponsor of the arrangement. This structure is common in