June 2, 2015 is the deadline for small employers sponsoring retirement plans who failed to meet the Internal Revenue Code’s employee benefit plan Form 5500 reporting requirements to claim the penalty relief available under the one-year temporary pilot program announced by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on June 2, 2014 to help qualifying businesses that may violated the rules because they were unaware of the reporting requirements.
All employee benefit plan sponsors and administrators should make understanding and arranging for timely preparation and filing of Form 5500s and other returns and other reports and disclosures required by the Code and other laws like the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) a priority.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, plan administrators and sponsors of retirement plans who fail to file required annual returns, can face stiff penalties – up to $15,000 per return. Where the plan also is subject to a Form 5500 filing requirement under ERISA, additional penalties also can apply for late or nonfiling of the required form.
As part of their efforts to outreach to small and other employer plan administrators and sponsors, both the IRS and Department of Labor are offering voluntary compliance programs to encourage plan sponsors and administrators to voluntarily come into compliance with these requirements who previously have failed to file required Form 5500s. The pilot program announced June 2, 2014 and scheduled to close June 2, 2015 is an example of one of those programs. By filing late returns by June 2, eligible filers filing under the program can avoid the potentially significant penalities that the IRS otherwise might impose for non- or late filing of the required returns.
This program is generally open to certain small business (owner-spouse) plans and plans of business partnerships (together, “one-participant plans”) and certain foreign plans. Those who have already been assessed a penalty for late filings are not eligible for this program.
When considering making a filing under the IRS pilot program, a plan sponsor or plan administrator also should evaluate whether there also are non-filing or late filing exposures arising under the Form 5500 filing requirements of ERISA that may need resolution. If so, consideration should be given also to file the return under the Department of Labor’s Voluntary Compliance Resolution Program for late filers.
For Advice, Representation, Training & Other Resources
If you need help responding to these new or other workforce, benefits and compensation, performance and risk management, compliance, enforcement or management concerns, help updating or defending your workforce or employee benefit policies or practices, or other related assistance, the author of this update, attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer may be able to help.
Recognized as a “Top” attorney in employee benefits, labor and employment and health care law, Ms. Stamer is a practicing attorney Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, author, pubic speaker, management policy advocate and thought leader with more than 25 years’ experience advising government contractors and other employers, their management, benefit plans and plan fiduciaries, vendors and service providers and others about OFCCP, EEOC, and other employment discrimination, government contracting compliance, and other workforce and operational performance, compliance, risk management, compensation, and benefits matters. As a part of this involvement, Ms. Stamer throughout her career specifically has advised and represented a broad range of employers across the U.S., their employee benefit plans and plan fiduciaries, insurers, health care providers and others about the implications of DOMA and other rules relating to rights and expectations of LBGT community members and others in federally protected classes under Federal and state employment, tax, discrimination, employee benefits, health care and other laws.
In addition to her extensive client work Ms. Stamer also is a widely published author, management policy advocate and thought leader, and management policy advocate on these and other workforce and related matters who shares her experience and leadership in a wide range of contexts. A current or former author and advisory board member of HR.com, Insurance Thought Leadership, SHRM, BNA and several other the prominent publications, Past Chair of the ABA RPTE Employee Benefit & Other Compensation Arrangements Group, Co-Chair and Past Chair of the ABA RPTE Welfare Plan Committee, Vice Chair of the ABA TIPS Employee Benefit Plans Committee, Vice President of the North Texas Health Care Compliance Professionals Association, Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section, former President of the Richardson Development Center Board of Directors, and the former Board Compliance Chair of the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, An American College of Employee Benefit Counsel, American Bar Association (ABA) and State Bar of Texas Fellow, Martindale Hubble Premier AV Rated (the highest), Ms. Stamer publishes and speaks extensively on these and other staffing and human resources, compensation and benefits, technology, health care, privacy, public policy, and other operations and risk management concerns. Her publications and insights appear in the ABA and other professional publications, HR.com, SHRM, Insurance Thought Leadership, Health Care Compliance Association, Atlantic Information Service, Bureau of National Affairs, World At Work, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insurance, the Dallas Morning News, Modern Health Care, Managed Healthcare, Health Leaders, and a many other national and local publications.
You can review other recent human resources, employee benefits and internal controls publications and resources and additional information about the employment, employee benefits and other experience of the Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, PC here. If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail – by creating or updating your profile www.cynthiastamer.com or by registering to participate in the distribution of these and other updates on our HR & Employee Benefits Update here including:
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- Stamer, Others Discuss Fiduciary Challenges Arising From Health Plan Vendor Data Breaches On 4/2
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