Errors Recently the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS) posted what it finds as common Form 5500 errors and how to avoid them and IRS Scrutiny. In many Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) projects, the IRS find mistakes when plan sponsors enter incorrect information on their Form 5500 series returns or information reports. The IRS use information
We get this question a lot. The instructions to the Form 5500 give the technical answer. However, below is a quick summary of those requirements. Every situation is unique and for 2023 Form 5500s, the DOL just updated the rules. If you have specific questions, please feel free to give us a call or contact us to see
The DOL recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2014-01 which details procedures fiduciaries should take to find missing participants and properly distribute account balances. The Bulletin suggests that fiduciaries use certified mail, check related plan and employment records, ask the designated plan beneficiary, and search the Internet to find missing participants. Fiduciaries should consider more expensive approaches
The IRS has issued Notice 2014-35 which provides relief from late-filing penalties from the annual reporting requirements under Form 5500 series with respect to employee benefit plans. Under the notice, the IRS will not impose penalties relating to the filing of Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, and Form 8955-SSA or the filing of required actuarial reports with
On April 4, 2014, the IRS issued Notice 2014-19, which provides guidance on how qualified retirement plans should treat the marriages of same-sex couples following the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor. The Windsor decision invalidated Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that barred married same-sex couples from being treated as married under
The AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center recently issued a summary of the DOL Office of Inspector General’s report: EBSA Needs to Provide Additional Guidance and Oversight to ERISA Plans Holding Hard-to-Value Alternative Investments. Highlights from the Report Our recommendation is that Plan fiduciaries overseeing plans with alternative investments should read the DOL OIG
The long awaited new Revenue Procedures for the Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System have been issued and will be effective, generally April 1, 2013. The information below from the IRS website highlights some of the changes. New Revenue Procedure Updates EPCRS Revenue Procedure 2013-12 was released on December 31, 2012. Revenue Procedure 2008-50 is modified