DOL and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Annual Filings

There are no changes of note in the 2010 Form 5500, but there are some items that plan sponsors may want to keep in mind as the filing season approaches.

Common Filing Problems

One of the most common problems experienced last year with filings was receiving a "Processed Stopped" status from the DOL. Such status indicated that the filing was considered received by the DOL but they could not complete processing it. The most frequent cause for this status involved some type of issue with the signing credentials including credentials (a) entered but not set-up with signing authority, (b) not entered into IFile or the third-party software correctly, (c) not entered on the correct signature line, and/or (d) not entered at all.

To avoid these issues, clients should make sure that when registering for signing credentials, you check the signer box, keep track of your EFAST2 User ID and four-digit PIN and check to make sure that DOL correspondence is not being filtered out as spam in your email inbox. If the plan administrator and plan sponsor is the same person, the signature need only be applied once on the plan administrator line. If the plan administrator and plan sponsor are different people, both must sign the form.

Adding attachments to the filings was sometimes a challenge. Some third-party software had trouble loading and transmitting attachments during peak processing times. In addition, attachments cannot be processed by the DOL if encrypted or password protected. To ensure your filing and attachments are properly filed in a timely manner, try to file at least a week before the deadline and make sure that encryption and password protections have been removed from all attachments.

IRS Notice CP 216H

The IRS sent Notice IRS CP 216H, "Application for Extension of Time to File an Employee Plan Return Denied – Not Timely," to some plan sponsors in error. The IRS believes they now have the problem fixed. However, if this notice was received in error, the IRS suggests you send the denial letter and proof that the original Form 5558 was postmarked in a timely manner to the IRS’s Ogden, Utah office.

Form 8955-SSA

This new, yet to be released, form will replace the Schedule SSA previously filed with the Form 5500. Plan administrators are not required to file the Form 8955-SSA for the 2009 plan year and subsequent years until the IRS issues guidance establishing a special due date. The special due date is expected to occur in 2011.