Author, Ryan Gorman, Atlanta, +1 404 572 4609, rgorman@kslaw.com
Employers and plan sponsors must comply with numerous filing and notice deadlines for their retirement and health and welfare plans. Failure to comply with these deadlines can result in costly penalties and excise taxes. To avoid such penalties and excise taxes, employers must remain informed with respect to the filing and notice deadlines associated with their plans.
The filing and notice deadline table below provides key filing and notice deadlines common to calendar year plans for the next two months. Please note that the deadlines will be different if your plan year is not the calendar year. Please also note that the table does not include all applicable filing and notice deadlines, just the most common ones.
Deadline
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Item
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Action
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Affected Plans
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July 29 (no later than 210 days after the end of the plan year in which the change was effective)
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Summary of Material Modifications
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Deadline for plan administrator to distribute summary of material modifications reflecting any changes to the summary plan description (SPD) arising from any plan amendments adopted during prior year (unless a revised SPD is distributed that contains the modification).
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Retirement Plans
Health & Welfare Plans
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July 31
(the last day of the 7th month following the plan year)
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DOL Form 5500
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Deadline for plan administrator to file Form 5500 (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan) for prior year. This deadline is extended 2 ½ months if the plan administrator files Form 5558.
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Retirement Plans
Health and Welfare Plans
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IRS Form 8955-SSA
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Deadline for plan administrator to file Form 8955-SSA (Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits). This deadline is extended by 2 ½ months if the plan administrator files a Form 5558.
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Retirement Plans
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August 14 (within 45 days after the close of the second quarter of plan year)
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Benefit Statements for Participant-Directed Plans
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Deadline for plan administrator to send benefit statement for the second quarter of the plan year to participants in participant-directed defined contribution plans.
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Defined Contribution Plans with participant-directed investments
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Quarterly Fee Disclosure
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Deadline for plan administrator to disclose fees and administrative expenses deducted from participant accounts during the second quarter of the plan year. Note that the quarterly fee disclosure may be included in the quarterly benefit statement or as a stand-alone document.
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August 15
(the 15th day of the 8th month after the end of the plan year)
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IRS Forms 990 and 990-EZ
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Deadline for tax-exempt trusts associated with qualified retirement plans and voluntary employee beneficiary associations (VEBAs) to file Forms 990 or 990-EZ with the IRS for prior year if the trustee obtained a 3-month extension by filing a Form 8868.
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Qualified Retirement Plans*
Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations
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August 30
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Comparative Chart of Investment Alternatives
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Deadline for plan administrator to furnish the 2014 comparative chart of investment alternatives, unless plan administrator takes advantage of a one-time delay to align the timing with that of other plan enrollment materials. Note that the plan administrator may take advantage of the delay in 2013 or 2014, but not in both years.
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Defined Contribution Plans with participant-directed investments
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*Qualified Retirement Plans include all defined benefit and defined contribution plans that are intended to satisfy Code §401(a).