The Form 5500: What All Employers and Plan Administrators Need to Know and How to Avoid Costly Fines
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
Employers who sponsor retirement plans for their employees face annual reporting requirements that may involve significant expenses. One of these is the requirement that a plan be audited annually by an independent qualified...more
I’ve been long in this business to remember no participant websites, so I’m amazed by technological breakthroughs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools BenchMine is billed as the first-ever AI 401(k) comparative analysis...more
The Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation recently issued final rules on employee benefit plan annual reporting requirements that are effective for plan years beginning on or...more
How to determine whether a plan sponsor is paying way too much? Like Justice Potter Stewart would say, I know it when I see it. I have seen the information shown on Form 5500 or a fee disclosure form. Whether it’s the plan...more
I think the Solo 401(k) plan is one of the great treats for sole proprietors. I have been using it for years. The problem is that there is so little help, that sponsors of these plans fall into a trap when they forget that...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
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
In today’s episode of “Just Compensation,” hosts Megan Monson, Taryn E. Cannataro, and Batool T. Banker of Lowenstein’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation practice examine the Form 5500, which must be filed by all...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
Correcting your plan’s late deposit of salary deferrals by depositing them and making a contribution to make up for lost earnings in your 401(k) plan isn’t enough....more
Solo 401(k) plans were a great opportunity for owner-employees to offer a plan for themselves (as well as their spouse)....more
With July 31st passing (the deadline for Form 5500 without an extension), it’s a great way to ponder if you have any outstanding Form 5500 issues such as a late return or an incomplete return (such as one missing a plan...more
The Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) is a Department of Labor (DOL) program designed to encourage voluntary compliance with ERISA’s 5500 program. It’s great as a plan sponsor if you forget to file a Form...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
The purpose of an audit of Form 5500 is to make sure that plan sponsors voluntarily comply with the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. Sometimes, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Department of Labor (DOL) audit is done...more
401(k) Plan Mergers and Updated IRS Determination Letters - As part of an M&A transaction, your company may assume a new 401(k) plan that is sponsored by the acquired business. This article includes some common questions...more
Days are getting longer, temperatures are getting warmer, plants are looking greener, schools are letting out, Brood X cicadas are emerging…it can only mean one thing…5500 season is approaching. However, unlike the...more
Failure to file Form 5500 is costly as the Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has jurisdiction over the form and can set forth separate penalties....more
Most administration conducted by third-party administrators (TPAs) is quite good, but the juicy and scary stories are about the terrible TPAs and the havoc they create....more
Finding things wrong with a 401(k) plan is very easy when a settlement in. a lawsuit has been reached. BTG International just settled a lawsuit where they are paying $560,000 in a settlement. The complaint stated that the...more
The Covid-19 pandemic and its shock to the country’s economy have been felt particularly hard by small employers, who are also likely to face a number of looming problems with their 401(k) plans. This article discusses three...more
When I was 13 and I had my Bar Mitzvah, I plunked down about $2,000 in 1985 money for a state of the art Apple IIe with a monochrome monitor. One of the first pieces of software I bought was the top desktop publishing...more