Employers are required to file an annual Form 5500 for each separate ERISA welfare benefit plan, unless a reporting exemption applies. The Form 5500 must be filed by the last day of the seventh month following the end of the plan year, unless an extension applies. For calendar year plans, the deadline is normally July 31 of the following year. The Form 5500, including required schedules and attachments, must be filed electronically using the DOL’s EFAST2 electronic filing system.

Plan sponsors may decide to combine more than one type of ERISA welfare benefit into a single plan to consolidate annual reporting. The intention to combine benefits into a single plan should be reflected in the governing plan documents, such as a wrap document. If ERISA welfare benefits are combined into a single plan, the plan administrator would generally only be required to annually file one Form 5500 for the plan’s benefits.

The DOL has the authority under ERISA to assess penalties of up to $1,100 per day for each day an administrator fails or refuses to file a complete Form 5500. The penalties may be waived if the noncompliance was due to reasonable cause. In addition, ERISA provides for criminal penalties for willful violations of its reporting requirements.

The Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) was created by the DOL to encourage employee benefit plan administrators to voluntarily file overdue Forms 5500. The DFVCP gives delinquent plan administrators a way to avoid potentially higher penalty assessments by voluntarily completing their late Form 5500s for a year and paying reduced penalties. Plan administrators are eligible to use the DFVCP only if they make the required filings prior to being notified in writing by the DOL of a failure to file a timely annual report.

Whether a plan qualifies for a full or partial exemption from the Form 5500 filing requirement depends on the plan’s size and funding. Small welfare plans are completely exempt from the Form 5500 filing requirement if they:

• Have fewer than 100 covered participants (employees) at the beginning of the plan year; and
• Are unfunded (benefits are paid from the employer’s general assets) or are insured. The plan can have a combination of insured and unfunded benefits and still qualify for the exemption.

Large welfare plans are not exempt from the Form 5500 filing requirement, but they are not required to comply with all of the Form 5500 filing requirements. This limited filing exemption applies only if the plan is unfunded, insured, or a combination of unfunded and insured. Plans that qualify for this exception are not required to file Schedule H, which focuses on the plan’s financial information, and they are not required to file an accountant’s opinion.

For questions regarding this filing requirement, contact your NEEBCo representative.