Employers and plan administrators that have a hard time choosing the version of the Form 5500 to file for earlier plan years, and which schedules to file, now have some help. That assistance comes from none other than the Department of Labor (DOL) — one of the agencies that imposes the filing requirement in the first place, which seems fair.
The DOL’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has unveiled a new online tool intended to help employers and plan administrators with the following:
- choosing the correct version of the Form 5500 to file for plan years before the current one
- amending Form 5500 filings from previous years
- choosing the correct schedule to the Form 5500 to file
An online selection tool is available.
Following are the steps to follow in using it:
1) In the plan filing field, enter the first day of the plan year for which you want to file. For direct filing entity (DFE) filings, enter the last day of the plan year for which you want to file. The date should be entered in the mm/dd/yyyy format.
2) If you are amending a previously filed Form 5500, check the box.
3) If your plan is a 403(b) or if you are filing for a DFE, other than a group insurance arrangement (GIA), check the appropriate box. If neither applies to your plan, leave the boxes unmarked.
4) Select the get results box. A general description of what you are required to file will be displayed. The form year(s) that are available for you to file will be displayed in bold. If there are any prior year schedules that must be attached, they will be listed in the “Exceptions.”
Any prior year schedules must be attached as a PDF file and are generally available here and here.
Sample copies of the forms and schedules are available. To file, go to http://www.efast.dol.gov. More information about filing electronically is available.
Important Caveats
The new online selection tool will not provide detailed instructions specific to an individual plan’s filing requirements. Reviewing the instructions to the Form 5500/5500-SF for instructions that are applicable to your plan may be helpful in this regard.
Employers and plan administrators that need to file a delinquent Form 5500 or Form 5500-SF under the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) should use the online DFVCP penalty calculator to be certain calculations of the amount due are correct.