The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
By July 31, employers that sponsor self-funded medical plans must report and pay their PCORI fee. By July 31, employers that sponsor calendar-year employee benefit plans that are subject to ERISA must file a Form 5500 (unless...more
Schlichter Bogard, LLC represents participants of the $7 billion Charter Communications, Inc. 401(k) Savings Plan in a class action against Charter Communications, Inc....more
George Carlin had a joke that to get off a jury, you should just tell the Judge that you can determine a person is guilty by just looking at them....more
“Solo 401(k)” is a marketing term used for a 401(k) plan that is adopted by a sole proprietor or an incorporated business with no employees other than the owner. These plans offer a greater retirement savings opportunity...more
As a plan fiduciary, I still can’t believe it. A Third Party Administrator (TPA) we terminated was trying to hold us up for valuations and a Form 5500 we paid for, as part of, annual administration. It was $80,000....more
If your company offers an employee benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), you are likely required to file Form 5500. Form 5500 is an annual report that contains information about a company’s...more
Recently, we have become aware of what appears to be a new approach in the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Form 5500 Annual Report (Form 5500) penalty program, including increased penalties and faster enforcement actions....more
I got a phone call from a broker who wanted to give me a free 401(k) analysis. I’m sure the call was from Form 5500 where I’m listed as a plan sponsor. The broker had no idea who I was or what I did for a living, but it...more
The 2023 Form 5500, which will be filed beginning in mid-2024, includes the following changes...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) announced changes to Form 5500. For Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs), new codes have been added to Line 8a of Part II to identify different types of MEPs, such as pooled employer plans,...more
While working as an ERISA attorney with a national practice (cough, cough), it’s clear to me that the biggest compliance issue that my plan sponsors clients to have these days is the late deposit of deferrals....more
We are just past the “official” start of summer, which means it is time for sponsors of retirement plans and many health and welfare plans to think about preparing and submitting Form 5500. In this post on the All Things HR...more
The auditing business for retirement plans has been cleaned up over the years, and quite a few auditors who have no business conducting audits were moved aside by the Department of Labor (DOL), and further changes for the...more
Since 2015, federal agencies have been required to annually review the laws and regulations they enforce to adjust applicable penalties for inflation. The idea has been to provide increasingly greater incentives for plan...more
The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released their final revisions to the Form 5500 and the Form 5500-SF Short Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan for the 2021 plan...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final regulation (Final Rule) on December 29, 2021, updating the 2021 Form 5500 to reflect certain statutory changes included in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement...more
One of the most annoying parts of being an ERISA attorney was the requirement that new retirement plans be adopted by the last day of the Plan Year, making December 31st a very busy time of year....more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) is relying on a recent Supreme Court decision to effectively extend the amount of time the agency has to bring fiduciary breach claims. DOL investigations often last years, so it is common for...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”), Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”), and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) recently released a notice of proposed revisions to the Form 5500...more
A plan with 100 or more participants requires an audit of a plan’s financial standing conducted by an independent qualified public accountant to be submitted along with Form 5500....more
When a plan terminates and distributes all its assets or merges all its assets into another plan, you need to understand that a Final Form 5500 needs to be completed. Otherwise, you will get notified by the Internal Revenue...more
Part of my job is fixing errors made by plan sponsors and their plan providers. Despite what the top payroll providers who also serve as third-party administrators (TPA) may say, a good part of that job is fixing the errors...more
President Joe Biden has been in office for 34 days and his nominee for Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh, has not yet been confirmed. So far, Mr. Walsh has not publicly stated much regarding his views or intended priorities...more
Deadlines are a large part of employee benefit plan administration. The past 12 – 18 months have contributed to potential confusion about standard deadlines and added new deadlines plan administrators will not want to...more