Form 5500 Archives - Page 2 of 4 - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

Proposed Changes to Form 5500 Reporting Requirements May Have Significant Impact on Retirement Plan Sponsors

by Joseph K. Urwitz, Megan Mardy and Sarah L. Engle | Aug 11, 2016 | Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

On July 11, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced a proposal to implement sweeping changes to the forms and regulations that govern annual employee benefit plan reporting on Form 5500. The proposed changes, which were published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2016, would significantly increase the annual reporting obligations for nearly all retirement plans. The changes also would have a considerable impact on employer-sponsored group health plans. For more information about the effect of the proposed changes on health and welfare plan sponsors, see Proposed Changes to Form 5500 Would Significantly Increase Reporting Obligations for Health and Welfare Plan Sponsors.

The DOL is seeking written comments on the proposed changes, which must be provided by October 4, 2016. The revised reporting requirements, if adopted, generally would apply for plan years beginning on and after January 1, 2019. Certain compliance questions will, however, be effective for Form 5500 series returns filed for the 2016 plan year.

Read the full article here.

Form 5500 Deadline Extension Repealed

by Allison Wilkerson, Joseph K. Urwitz and Sarah L. Engle | Mar 11, 2016 | Health and Welfare Plans

On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). In addition to authorizing $305 billion in funding for federal highway projects, the FAST Act also repeals the recently enacted extension to the Form 5500 filing deadline included in the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act (Surface Transportation Act).

Read the full article.

New Legislation Extends Future Form 5500 and 990 Deadlines, Affects Veterans Health Benefits and Extends Excess Pension Asset Transfer Rules

by Jeffrey Holdvogt and Sarah L. Engle | Oct 30, 2015 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

The recently enacted Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 includes provisions that will extend the deadlines for filing future Form 5500 and Form 990 series information returns. In addition, the legislation modifies rules relating to the ability of veterans to participate in health savings accounts (HSAs), allows employers to disregard employees receiving certain veterans benefits when determining whether they are subject to the shared responsibility requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and further extends the ability of employers to use excess pension assets to pay for retiree health and group-term life insurance.

Read the full article.

New IRS Program for Delinquent Form 5500 Filers of Non-ERISA Plans

by Jeffrey Holdvogt, Patrick Ryan and Todd Solomon | Jun 17, 2014 | Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service recently established a one-year pilot program that provides plan administrators and plan sponsors of certain non-ERISA and foreign plans subject to the annual Form 5500 reporting requirements relief from penalties under the Internal Revenue Code. The penalty relief is temporary and expires on June 2, 2015.

Read the full article.

Retirement Plans With Puerto Rico Employees Can File Form 5500 Rather than Puerto Rico Annual Return

by McDermott Will & Emery | Mar 27, 2012 | Retirement Plans

by Nancy S. Gerrie and Jeffrey M. Holdvogt

The Puerto Rico Treasury Department recently issued guidance (Circular Letter No. 12-02) allowing certain retirement plans qualified under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code, including dual-qualified plans that are also qualified under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, to file a copy of Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF as the plan’s annual Puerto Rico return in lieu of filing Puerto Rico Form 480.7(OE). The new procedures, effective beginning with the annual filing for the 2011 tax year, will allow retirement plans sponsors with employees in Puerto Rico to satisfy their annual Puerto Rico filing requirement with Form 5500.

The Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code generally requires employers that maintain a retirement plan qualified in Puerto Rico to file, on an annual basis, Form 480.7(OE), Information Return of Income Tax-Exempt Organizations. However, for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2011, employers that maintain plans that are subject to the provisions of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and that have previously submitted an application to the Puerto Rico Treasury Department for a determination that the plan is qualified under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code, may comply with the annual Puerto Rico filing requirement by filing a copy of the corresponding Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF as the plan’s annual return in lieu of filing Puerto Rico Form 480.7(OE).

Plan sponsors that elect to file Form 5500 to satisfy the Puerto Rico annual return requirement must still complete the part of Form 480.7(OE) containing the biographical data of the plan on the first page of Form 480.7(OE) and attach a copy of Form 5500 as the annual filing. Either Form 5500 or Form 480.7(OE) must be filed by July 31 following the calendar year close or the last day of the seventh month following the fiscal year close of the trust (if Form 480.7(OE) is filed) or the plan year (if Form 5500 is filed), unless a request is filed for an automatic extension to October 15 following the close of the year for a calendar plan year. Plan sponsors that request an extension of time to file the Form 5500 with the U.S. Department of Labor still must request an extension of time for the Puerto Rico filing separately by filing Model SC 2644 prior to the filing deadline of the Form 480.7(OE). The Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code imposes a penalty of $500 per form for failure to timely file the annual report.

Deadline Approaching for Filing New IRS Form 8955-SSA

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jan 12, 2012 | Retirement Plans

by Natalie M. Nathanson, Stephen Pavlick and Adrienne Walker Porter

New Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8955-SSA (the Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits) replaces the Schedule SSA of the Form 5500 annual report. Section 6057(a) of the Internal Revenue Code requires plan administrators of retirement plans subject to the vesting standards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to report information on separated participants with deferred vested benefits that have not commenced. Starting with the 2009 plan year, plan administrators are required to provide information on separated participants with deferred vested benefits on the new IRS Form 8955-SSA. Form 8955-SSA will generally be required to be filed by the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends, but the IRS extended the general filing deadline for the 2009 and 2010 plan years until the later of January 17, 2012, or the due date that generally applies for filing Form 8955-SSA for the 2010 plan year.

To read the full article, please click here.