Each year, pension and welfare benefit plans are generally required to file the Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, reporting information on their financial condition, investments and operations.  Recently, the IRS has made it a point to warn plan sponsors about the important changes to the Form 5500 that have taken place for 2009 and 2010, including mandatory electronic filing of Form 5500.

Deadlines
Form 5500-series returns must be filed by plan sponsors on the last day of the seventh month after their plan year ends.  Calendar year plans must typically file by July 31.  In 2010, however, July 31 falls on a Saturday.  Therefore the deadline is Monday, August 2, 2010 (when the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline moves to the following Monday).

Important changes
There have been a number of important changes that apply to the filing of Form 5500.  These changes include the following:

• Paper versions of Form 5500 are no longer accepted.  Plans must file the electronic version of Form 5500 through the Department of Labor's Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2).
• Form 5500 and 5500-SF filers can use software provided by approved vendors or EFAST.
• Form 5500 filers must have required credentials to sign and submit the form.
• Plans with fewer than 100 participants may be eligible to file the new Form 5500-SF, Sort Form Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan.  This form must also be electronically filed.
• "One-participant" plans can file Form 5500-SF electronically in place of a paper-only Form 5500-EZ for 2009 and later plan years to satisfy their filing obligations.
• Many of the Form 5500 schedules have also been modified.
• Schedule E, Form 5500, has been eliminated.
• Filers should not file Schedule SSA information with Form 5500.  Schedule SSA will become its own form, Form 8955-SSA, which must be filed directly with the IRS.

Late/amended filings
Plan Year 2008 filings (including late and amended filings) can be submitted electronically using EFAST2 beginning on January 1, 2010, electronically using EFAST until June 30, 2010, or on paper until October 15, 2010.

For more information please contact Janet Nahorney at jnahorney@blumshapiro.com or 860.561.6831.