I figured it out. The two small pin holes on the collar was the clue. It has hidden plastic locking tabs! To release, both tabs covered by the lower collar need to be pushed in at the same time as you pull up on the collar. Here's a picture of it once I got it off: ![EVO Bicycle Pump plunger collar](
There probably is a special tool made to do this, as the tabs are pretty strong but the holes in the collar just pinholes! I used two flathead screwdrivers instead, wedging them in under the collar to push in the plastic tabs.