 |
|
July 2006 | Volume V, Issue 7 | Editor: David Wise |
|
Plans Must Begin Filing Form 5500 Electronically in 2008The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recently announced a final regulation requiring plans to file Form 5500 annual reports electronically. Under the final rule, the electronic filing requirement for Form 5500 will be effective for plan years starting on or after January 1, 2008. A new system (not the current EFAST system for electronic filing) is currently being developed to facilitate the electronic filing. No technical guidance is available yet on the new system or process. Forms 5500/5500-EZ (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan) are filed each year by more than one million pension and other employee benefit plans to satisfy annual reporting requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. “We are moving to a wholly electronic filing system that will be streamlined, cost-effective, and more efficient for plans. This new state-of-the-art system will increase the accuracy of information used by the public and the government,” said Ann L. Combs, Assistant Secretary of Labor for EBSA. “At the same time, we are proposing to update the content of the Form 5500 to simplify filing and ensure compatibility with the electronic processing system.” Among the proposed revisions to the Form 5500 are: creation of a new short form for small plans whose assets are held in easy to value investments with regulated financial institutions; increased transparency of plan-related fees and expenses; improved information on the funding of defined benefit plans; and realignment of the reporting rules of 403(b) plans (subject to Title I) to be compatible with those of 401(k) plans. The new system will also customize the information required to be filed to the type of plan involved in each filing. DataPath has been an approved vendor providing a Form 5500 filing service using the existing EFAST 5500 tool since 1999. As no technical guidance is available yet on the new system or process, DataPath will keep our clients updated as more information becomes available. For more information on Forms 5500/5500-EZ: | |
Check out our Products!HSAToday DataPath 105-HRA DataPath 125 DataPath 132 DataPath COBRA Max105 myResourceCard® mySourceCard™ |
|
DataPath,
Inc. • 1601 Westpark Dr., Ste. 9 • Little
Rock, AR 72204
|
|