The Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, including all required schedules and attachments, is used to report information concerning employee benefit plans. Generally, any administrator or sponsor of an employee benefit plan subject to ERISA must file information about each benefit plan every year. Typically, Form 5500 reports must be filed by the last day of the 7th calendar month after the end of the plan year. For calendar year plans, this means the Form 5500 is due by August 1, 2011 (as July 31 is a Sunday), unless a Form 5558 is submitted and received by the IRS on or before the Form 5500 report's normal due date.

For welfare benefit plans, Form 5500 reports must be filed for both fully-insured and self-insured plans. Welfare benefit plans include health plans, dental plans, vision plans, disability plans, life insurance plans, accidental death and dismemberment plans, and certain employee assistance programs that have more than 100 participants at the beginning of a plan year.