The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security
Administration, along with the Department of Treasury, Internal
Revenue Service, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,
released Dec. 8 a notice of supplemental proposed Form 5500 Annual
Return/Report revisions required by the Pension Protection Act of
2006.
The notice is scheduled for publication in the Federal
Register Dec. 11.
These proposed changes supplement the proposed revisions to the
Form 5500 published July 21, prior to enactment of the PPA on Aug. 17
(139 PBD, 7/21/06; 33 BPR 1717, 7/25/06; 71 Fed. Reg. 41,616,
7/21/06).
The July 21 revisions included a final rule requiring the
electronic filing of Form 5500 for plan years beginning on or after
Jan. 1, 2008 (71 Fed. Reg. 41,359, 7/21/06); a notice of proposed
revisions to Form 5500, including its schedules and attachments, and a
proposed new short Form 5500 (71 Fed. Reg. 41,392, 7/21/06) intended
to create a wholly electronic filing system for receipt of the Form
5500; and a proposed rule that would conform the annual reporting and
disclosure regulations to the proposed revisions to Form 5500, all of
which are intended to ease the transition to an electronic filing
system.
Written comments on the July 21 proposed revisions to the Form 5500
and the proposed conformance rule were due by Sept. 19. Comments on
the Dec. 8 supplemental proposed revisions are due Jan.
10.
Supplemental Proposed Revisions.
The supplemental proposed Form 5500 Annual Return/Report revisions
would do the following:
• replace
the Schedule B, Actuarial Information, with separate actuarial
schedules for single employer plans (Schedule SB) and multiemployer
plans (Schedule MB) to reflect the PPA changes in funding and annual
reporting requirements;
• add
new questions to the Schedule R, Retirement Plan Information, to
collect additional information regarding single and multiemployer
defined benefit pension plans required by the PPA; and
• have
the Form 5500-SF Annual Return/Report (Short Form) included in the
July 21 revisions serve as the simplified report required by the PPA
for plans with fewer than 25 participants.
The revisions are being proposed for the 2008 plan year filings and
would affect employee pension and welfare benefit plans, plan
sponsors, administrators, and service providers to plans subject to
annual reporting requirements under ERISA and the tax code.
The changes proposed in the notice of proposed supplemental
revisions are limited to those needed to reflect the PPA annual
reporting requirements and do not attempt to address comments received
in connection with the July 21 proposal, the notice said.
One exception, however, is the movement of proposed asset
allocation questions for certain large defined benefit plans to the
Schedule R in conjunction with the proposal to eliminate the existing
Schedule B and create two new schedules, Schedule SB and Schedule
MB.
EBSA to Issue One Final Rule.
A final rule will be issued to reflect and combine both the July 21
proposal with the notice of proposed supplemental revisions, Elizabeth
Goodman, senior employee benefits law specialist with EBSA's Division
of Coverage, Reporting, and Disclosure, Office of Regulations and
Interpretations, said Dec. 8.
Addressing the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
conference on employee benefit plans accounting, auditing, and
regulatory update, Goodman said the agency will “coalesce”
the July 21 proposed revisions with the supplemental proposed
revisions. “It will be one final rule,” she said.
“We hope to have the final rule published in February
2007,” Goodman added.
Charts Listing What Is the Same, Similar, or Different.
In light of the time constraints, the agencies included in the
notice of proposed supplemental revisions charts listing the line item
data elements on the new actuarial schedules (Schedule SB and Schedule
MB) and the new line item data elements for Schedule R, as well as an
indication of which items on Schedule SB and Schedule MB are the same,
similar to, or different from existing Schedule B data items.
The agencies believe the information being published will provide
an adequate basis for public comments on the supplemental proposed
form changes, the notice said. The instructions for the new Schedules
SB and MB and the new Schedule R questions will be subject to a later
publication so they can be developed based on guidance to be issued by
IRS or PBGC implementing the PPA requirements underlying the Form 5500
data elements, the notice said.
For example, guidance may explain the manner in which the employer
makes elections with respect to the carryover and/or prefunding
balances, the notice said.
Written Comments.
Written comments on the supplemental proposed Form 5500 revisions
are due by Jan. 10 to Office of Regulations and Interpretations,
Employee Benefits Security Administration, Room N-5669, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.
20210, Attn: Supplemental Form 5500 Revision.
Commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically to
http://www.regulations.gov
(follow instructions for submission) or e-ORI@dol.gov. If comments are
submitted electronically, paper submissions are not necessary.
The public is invited to comment specifically on the decision
points for the proposed revisions and on the adequacy of the models,
assumptions, and data developed to evaluate regulatory burden, the
notice said.
In considering these alternatives, the objective of reduced
regulatory burden against the need for adequate reporting and
disclosure were weighed, quantifying impacts where possible, the
notice said.
The notice of supplemental proposed revisions is to be published in
the Federal Registeron Dec. 11.
By Michael W. Wyand
EBSA will provide mockups of the Schedules SB, MB, and R on its Web
site at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.
Copies of the mockups also may be obtained by calling the EBSA's
Public Disclosure Room at (866) 444-3272.