Goodbye Paper Filings, Hello 21st Century

Sponsors of one-participant retirement plans and foreign plans that were once required to paper file Form 5500-EZ may now “e-file” Form 5500-SF instead. As a third-party administrator (TPA), we are pleased with this decision as it allows us to better service plan sponsors. Pinnacle Plan Design believes e-filing is far better than paper filing for the following reasons:

• submissions can be tracked, and

• the TPA can electronically transmit the 5500-SF on behalf of the employer, thus eliminating the errors and missed deadlines that were common when plan sponsors had to paper file the 5500-EZ themselves.

Confidentiality Remains

One benefit of paper filing a Form 5500-EZ is that the content is not made public on the DOL’s website, as is the case for all other 5500 e-filers. Don’t worry! Any e-filed Form 5500-SF that indicates the plan is a one-participant plan or foreign plan will not appear on the DOL’s website.

Penalty Relief Program

Errors were common when it came to paper filing Form 5500-EZ. Thus, the IRS has issued guidance for late filers of the Form 5500-EZ (Revenue Procedure 2014-32). From June 2, 2014 – June 2, 2015, late filers essentially get a free pass to catch up on missed required filings from any year.

DOL 5500-EZ Status Hotline

(877) 829-5500

Not sure if you filed your required 5500-EZs for past plan years? The DOL has set up the above hotline to allow plan sponsors to check on the status of their past 5500-EZ filings (sorry, the TPA is not allowed to call on behalf of the plan sponsor).

If it turns out you are missing past filings, let us know! We will prepare the missing Form 5500-EZs for you and help you file them penalty-free before the June 2, 2015 deadline.

Read more about the 5500-EZ penalty relief program.

Robbie Petrillo is the marketing coordinator at Pinnacle Plan Design.