Feds to go after non-filers of Form 5500
10/09/2002
FYI, this is from the most recent issue of Benefit News. Thought you may be interested. Been slacking on your Form 5500 filings? Forget to apply for that extension? You may soon be hearing from officials at the Labor Department or Internal Revenue Service. DOL's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration has joined forces with the IRS to track delinquent 5500 filers. The agencies are trolling various databases to pinpoint plan sponsors in non-compliance with their annual reporting duty as outlined in ERISA. Letters to identified non-filers will begin arriving in December. There is still hope for delinquent plan sponsors, however, says PWBA spokeswoman Gloria Della. Both agencies are not-so-gently reminding sponsors of the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program, which can greatly reduce the civil penalties assessed. "We're offering people an olive branch to voluntarily comply, rather than waiting for us to find you," Della says. "If you don't voluntarily comply, we can assess maximum penalties." Failure to file comes with penalties of up to $1,100 per day per report. In 1999, PWBA collected $8 million from 2,900 participants in the DFVC program.
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