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The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 is a federal law covering retirement, health and other welfare benefit plans. It stipulates that the informational IRS Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, must be filed by employers for most employee benefit plans. These filings cover 401(k), 403(b) and 401(a) retirement plans, established by an employer, as well as other employer benefit plans.
A new mandatory electronic filing requirement (EFAST2) for the Form 5500 applies for all plan years beginning after January 1, 2009. More importantly, the Department of Labor (DOL) does not permit paid preparers of the Form 5500 to obtain “filing signer” credentials on a client’s behalf. Forms must now be electronically signed by two individuals---the plan administrator and the plan employer/plan sponsor. It is possible that both signature lines will be signed by the same person. If two different people will be signing, both will need to register separately. In order to obtain filing signer credentials, these individuals must register on the DOL’s website: http://www.efast.dol.gov/portal/app/welcome?execution=e1s1. The due date for filing Form 5500 for December 31, 2009 plan year-ends is July 31, 2010. One 2-1/2 month extension may be requested.
The steps are self-explanatory, but we have outlined them on our website. Click here for the instructions.
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