Proposed Form 5500 Revisions Seek New Retirement Plan Details

ERISA-covered retirement plan sponsors would be required to provide significantly detailed information about their plans when filing the Form 5500 (Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan), under a proposed rule from the Department of Labor (DoL), along with a separate proposed rule issued jointly by the DoL, Treasury/IRS, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. (For simplicity, this Client Action Bulletin refers to both sets of rules as the DoL’s proposed rule.) The DoL’s proposal, which affects only ERISA-covered plans, would amend the reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to all employee benefits, but this CAB focuses on the key revisions applicable to defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) retirement plans, including certain small plans (with fewer than 100 participants) that newly would be required to file certain information.