Form 5500 Changes

Posted by BAS - 30 November, 2017

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The government agencies responsible for Form 5500 released advance informational copies of the 2017 Form 5500 annual return/report and related instructions. Employee benefit plans subject to ERISA complete and file Form 5500 each year to satisfy required reporting and disclosure obligations. The U.S. Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation use Form 5500 to assure that employee benefit plans are operated and managed in accordance with required standards and that participant and beneficiary rights are protected.

The 2017 Form 5500 includes various modifications from prior versions. Some of these changes include:

  • IRS-Only Questions. Some IRS-only questions that were not required to be completed on the 2016 Form 5500 are removed from the 2017 version.
  • Authorized Service Provider Signatures. The instructions for authorized service provider signatures are updated to take into account e-filing on behalf of plan administrators.
  • Administrative Penalties. The maximum civil penalty amount is updated to $2,097 a day for a plan administrator who fails or refuses to file a complete or accurate Form 5500 report.
  • Plan Name Change. The form includes a field for filers to indicate if the name of a plan has changed.

The advance copies of 2017 Form 5500 are for informational purposes and cannot be used until they are finalized. A copy of the new forms can be accessed by clicking here.

 

Topics: HR & Benefits Compliance


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