Data & Research March 24, 2014

Reporting and Disclosure Requirements for Non-ERISA Plans

For retirement plans that do not need to comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), but still need to worry about reporting disclosure requirements, there is a checklist available to assist sponsors.
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Financial and retirement services provider Prudential has created its Compliance Checklist 2014 for qualified governmental and nonelecting church plans, non-ERISA 403(b) plans, 457 plans and nonqualified executive benefit plans that are not subject to ERISA.

The authors of the checklist acknowledge that even without ERISA coming into play, navigating the reporting and disclosure requirements mandated by the federal government can be confusing at best for retirement plan sponsors. So, the checklist offers sponsors of non-ERISA plans information on the materials that need to be filed, as well as filing due dates and the agencies these materials need to be routed to.

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The checklist is divided into two broad reporting categories: Participants and Beneficiaries; and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These categories each contain five sections that include:

  • Status: to monitor the activity for each item that applies to your plan.
  • Plan: indicates if the item applies to a:
    • qualified governmental or nonelecting church defined benefit plan;
    • qualified governmental or nonelecting church defined contribution plan;
    • non-ERISA 403(b) plan;
    • Section 457(b) plan; and/or
    • unfunded nonqualified plan.
     
  • Item: the task.
  • Action/Support: what must be completed for each item.
  • When Due: deadline or completion time frame for each item.

The checklist also makes mention of special reporting requirements for nonqualified top-hat retirement plans if there are unfunded.

The information presented in the checklist reflects reporting and disclosure requirements in effect as of January 1, 2014, according to Prudential.

A copy of the compliance checklist for non-ERISA plans can be downloaded here.

Prudential has also released a checklist of how defined benefit, defined contribution and 403(b) plans can better comply with ERISA (see “HelpingDB, DC and 403(b) Plan Comply with ERISA”).

Data & Research March 24, 2014

Helping DB, DC and 403(b) Plans Comply with ERISA

Financial and retirement services provider Prudential has released a checklist to help plan sponsors of defined benefit (DB), defined contribution (DC) and 403(b) retirement plans to better comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
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“We know how important it is for plan sponsors to comply with ERISA and the ever-changing reporting and disclosure requirements mandated by the federal government,” say the authors of Prudential’s Compliance Checklist for 2014. “The checklist incorporates DB, DC and 403(b) requirements and provides information on the materials needed to file, filing dates and agencies to which the filings should be made.”

The checklist is divided into four broad reporting categories that include: Participants and Beneficiaries; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); the Department of Labor (DOL); and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

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Some examples of items covered under Participants and Beneficiaries include the Summary of latest Annual Report or SAR, Form 1099-R and the Safe Harbor Notice. Items covered under IRS include correction of excesses with the elective deferral limit, as well Form 1099-R. Items covered under DOL include the Annual Return/Report or Form 5500, the Summary Plan Description and the Summary description of Material Modificiations, or SMM, to plan filing. Items covered under PBGC include PBGC Form 1 – Annual Premium Payment, as well as Schedule A and PBGC Form 1-EZ.

Each category then contains the following five sections:

  • Status: to monitor the activity for each item that applies to your plan.
  • Plan: indicates if the item applies to a DB, DC or 403(b) plan.
  • Item: the task.
  • Action/Support: what must be completed for each item.
  • When Due: deadline or completion time frame for each item.

The information presented in the checklist reflects reporting and disclosure requirements in effect as of January 1, 2014, according to Prudential.

A copy of the full ERISA compliance checklist document can be downloaded here.

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